The Forgotten Princess Book 1 Earth
by Metastee Postre
Summary: Princess Anala of the Fire Nation had a simple life until things went wrong. Terribly wrong. Follow Anala as she discovers a new land, makes new friends, as well as enemies, and tries to find her place in a foreign land.
1. Chapter 1

**SO this is my first story. Please be kind. I was doing this one day because I was bored and had nothing to do and decided to upload it for the hell of it :D Enjoy. ALSO I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, just Anala and any other character that isn't from the show. Lol.**

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The Fire Nation citizens watched with their mouth's hanging opening, looking like stunned mullets as the girl in the vivid red dress bounced cheerily down the street. Some people came to a complete halt to stare while others had to take a second glance and rub their eyes as if to make sure it wasn't all a dream. Some people even bowed. But the girl was oblivious and continued on her way, her golden eyes gleaming with happiness.

"Princess Anala!" a cry came from behind her. She stopped and spun around, making her dress fly about. She'd been found by the guards and they were hot on her heels. She smiled mischievously before running into the crowds, disappearing like smoke. The soldiers were getting irritated and pushed their way through the people, threatening them in all sorts of ways. Anala, however, had quickly exited the crowd and ran into the nearest alley. She chuckled as she watched the guards search through the crowd like a turtle-duck looking for its lost baby in the reeds.

She ran down the alley, tripping once but quickly recovering as she ran into the next street. She spotted some crates stacked on each other and ran for them as fast as her little legs could manage. She began to climb just as the guards had come around and spotted her yet again. They called and called but the girl kept climbing until she was on top of the roof. The guards attempted to climb the boxes, but they gave way under their weight. Anala giggled and brushed a few strands of her ebony hair out of her face. "You come down here this minute!" one of the guards shouted.

"Never!" Anala squealed before she ran along the roof, leapt, and landed on the next one with catlike grace. The guards were holding their breaths, fearing the worst. They briefly imagined the Fire Lord burning them alive for letting his eldest son's only daughter perish while they were supposed to be looking after her.

Anala cried with delight at her victory and decided to try jumping onto the next roof. But what happened next, no one saw coming.

As she ran, time began to slow down. She went to leap but she'd pushed off on a loose tile. She slipped and began falling to the ground below her. She closed her eyes and screamed as she fell, faster and faster. She waited for the impact, for death to claim her, but it never did. She felt herself being held tightly in someone's arms. She worked up the courage to peak her eye open to see who her saviour was.

Her uncle glared down at her, gold eyes filled with anger, whether at her or the guards or both, she never knew. He took his gaze away from her and looked to the guards. He never said a word, just glared, before he turned back and headed towards the palace. Anala held onto his robes tightly the whole way, her heart still beating at an unbelievable speed.

It was typical for her. She wanted to get out and explore, not be stuck inside like a prisoner. She felt like a prisoner sometimes. She didn't like being told how to act, or how to do something and the times when she was forced to do something, that's when she felt most like a prisoner. It was scary, being a prisoner in your own home where you'd expect to feel safe. Anala hardly ever felt safe within the palace walls. The ghosts of the pasts and the angry spirits were there. She could feel them. Lurking just around the corner, in the shadows where they hid, waiting to attack her, to punish her for her ancestor's actions.

She knew what happened to the airbenders was wrong. She knew what was happening to the rest of the world was wrong. But she could do nothing. She was taught all her life that the Fire Nation was superior and that people from the other nations were barbarians, monsters. Sometimes she believed it. She'd never seen a person from another nation but she heard things, whispers, faint conversations about the cruelty shown by the other nations. She couldn't help but feel a bit fearful.

Sometimes she had nightmares. In her nightmares she saw monsters, in-human creatures that bended earth or water, sometimes even both. They had glowing red eyes, fangs so long and sharp that it looked like they could easily skewer someone. Their skin would change colour from a menacing dark blue, the colour that the sky would turn before a large storm, to a sick, dirty dark green. It terrified her. Before her brother, Lu Ten, went off to war, she used to sneak into his room and he would comfort her before she'd fall back into a dream-less sleep.

Once they'd reached the palace, her uncle set her down and pushed her slightly, but still with force, towards the direction of her room. "Go to your room and stay there," grumbled her uncle. She didn't disobey; instead she rushed to her room, holding back tears of embarrassment. She'd nearly died because of her own stupidity. Of course, it wasn't the first time she was doing risky things as she was running about and it certainly wouldn't be the last. She had a knack for getting herself into trouble where she would almost always end up in a near death situation, although before that day, no one had ever been around to witness her slip up.

She ran and flopped onto her soft bed after she'd slammed the door shut. She buried her face into the pillow, just wanting to disappear, to escape the humiliation. But her wish was never granted. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, feeling lonelier than ever.

She wished she had a friend. Sure, she had her cousins to play with but Azula was usually cold and always insulted her while Zuko was shy and quiet, always worrying over the silliest things, so he'd never go on any of her adventures. The sons and daughters of the noblemen and women weren't any fun either. The girls were always pleasant to her, but she knew they'd always talk when her back was turned, whispering harsh insults she sometimes heard. She laughed as she remembered one time where a group of girls had insulted her, not behind her back but to the face. Azula had heard and she came over and set leader's dress on fire. She knew that it wasn't very nice of Azula, but she appreciated her cousin sticking up for her.

The boys were always being forced upon her, the worst thing was they'd range anywhere from the shocking age of forty and the youngest was about four, six years younger than herself. She felt insulted at times. The fathers were always trying to hint at arranged marriages just so they could become a part of the royal family. She thanked her lucky stars that both her father and grandfather hadn't agreed to any request, and she hoped it stayed that way.

At that moment, she realised she had no one. Her aunt was always with Zuko, Azula with her friends, her uncle off doing spirits knows what, her grandfather was busy ruling a country, her father and brother were at war and her mother had died giving birth to her. She was an accident, and she knew it. She'd heard a couple of maids talking once, about the time when her mother had found out she was pregnant. Her father and mother had been shocked, it was unexpected. They hadn't planned another child and apparently didn't want one. Her uncle had heard the chatter also and she never saw those two maids again. She felt lonely, she had no one and her existence was an accident. A friend sounded nice at that moment. She closed her eyes and thought about a happier place, where she'd feel welcome and loved.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. I don't own Avatar, just the characters that aren't in the series :D Enjoy**

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She hadn't been out of the palace in two weeks. Two weeks! She'd began to go slightly insane, she swore she started seeing things that weren't there and hearing things that were never said. She needed to get out, she felt as if the walls were coming down on her, like everything was crumbling slowly on top of her. She was suffocating. But she couldn't get away. She'd tried to sneak out the next day but her uncle had stopped her. He was enraged that'd she'd _dare_ to try and get out again and further embarrass their family. After that, she hadn't tried to get out again; instead she wandered around the garden and watched the turtle-ducks. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. She was getting tired of watching the turtle ducks swim around and around and around and _around_.

The garden was very limited on adventurous things. She saw the turtle-ducks a million times; once you saw one flower you'd seen them all. Literally. All the flowers in the garden were the same. There were only three different kinds of flowers and there were loads of them that were the same. The sky was no different, blue and cloudless on some days then cloudy on others. She felt time melt together. Everything lost its meaning and she felt more isolated than she had ever before.

She was kept herself busy by lying in the grass, watching it grow which was a slow task for the grass, but it kept her entertained. Whether it was actually growing or not, she had no idea. It appeared to though, although it could have been just another one of her illusions. She was just about to roll over to watch the clouds float by, equally as slow, when she heard it. "…waterbender girl in the cell …" She sat up straight. _Waterbender girl? Here? _She crawled along through the bushes to get closer to the source. Three maids stood, gossiping and "cleaning". She narrowed her eyes at the trio who were supposed to be cleaning, not gossiping like a bunch of school children.

"She's only young I hear. Prince Zuko's age," said one of the maids as she was lightly dusting a painting that probably never had dust on it to begin with.

"Captured, tried to attack a man with water after he'd gotten rid of her _savage_ mother," the oldest out of the three snarled while nodding her head, as if she was agreeing with herself.

"Poor thing," the last one muttered. The other two didn't hear, or pretended not to hear. The other two began to talk about the girl that was in prison, snarling insults and harshly suggested what would happen to the girl.

Anala decided she'd heard enough and decided to investigate further. She wanted to see the girl for herself. Was she really savage like people from other nations were described? Was she red eyed with fangs and claws? There was only one way to find out. She nodded in determination and ran off down the halls, careful to make it look like she was up to something she shouldn't be when others were around.

She ran down the steps into the dark underground, beneath the palace where there were a few cells. The smell of death hit her nose, making her cringe and gag. She wondered whether the people down there were just left to rot completely after they'd taken their final breath. Most of the prisoners down there were ex-soldiers of all the nations that had been captured and kept down there to keep them close. Like the saying goes "keep your friends close but your enemies closer". Down in the dark, smelly underground was very close, too close for Anala's liking.

She stuck to the shadows, hoping that the prisoners wouldn't spot her. She needn't worry too much though, some just sat there, staring at the walls or just off into space with drool hanging from the sides of their mouths. They were skinny, probably starving and parched. She'd never seen these people before and began to pity them, wondering what nation some of them where from and what they were like before they turned into vegetables. There was a cell where the horrid smell was coming from. She saw the man lying on his side, looking at her with large, lifeless green eyes. She shuddered but couldn't take her eyes from the dead man, he looked so sad, almost as if he was reaching out for something because he arm was outstretched towards the cell door. A whimper pulled her from her trance.

She moved to the next cell and saw a small figure huddle in a corner, blue clothes ripped to shreds and burnt here and there. The world around her came to a complete stop as she realised this girl wasn't that different from her. Sure, she looked different from her and was slightly younger but they were still similar. The girl was trapped, just as Anala felt. She pictured herself in the girl's position and realised they weren't actually different at all, they were the same. There were no glowing red eyes, no fangs, no claws, nothing. There was no barbarian, savage or monster huddled in the corner of the cell, just a girl who was probably innocent and didn't deserve to be in there.

She took one last look before she ran away, back to the world above. She sprinted to the kitchens as if her life depended on it and stopped at the door, listening carefully. There were indeed people inside, they chattered away without worry. Anala hid under a nearby table and watched as the doors swung open and the chef exited, whistling while carrying a steaming plate of food. She rushed inside before the doors could close and quietly walked around, hiding in cupboards and under tables. She lifted herself up and looked on the table, grabbing the nearest thing which was a simple bread role, but it was better than nothing. She took off again.

Instead of hiding in the shadows, she approached the cell which held the girl. The girl gasped and whimpered, pulling her arms tighter around herself. "I … brought you something," whispered Anala, quickly glancing left and right to make sure no one was around to catch her. Her uncle would surely kill her for doing this.

The girl didn't budge, but the girl's scared expression turned to one of doubt and then she glared, her icy blue eyes making Anala shiver with fear. She set the bread roll on the ground. "Take it when you want then." With that, she disappeared back into the shadows and headed towards the exit. Before returning to the world above where there was fresh air and freedom from the horrid smell of death, she glanced back to see the girl's tanned hand reaching out of the cell and snatch the bread roll she'd left there. She smiled with victory.

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The sound of footsteps came closer and closer to her room. She rolled her eyes and buried her face as she heard Azula and her friends. "Hey Nala," Azula drawled, leaning on the open door to Anala's room, which was decorated with red and fire nation symbols and … _red._ Mai and Ty Lee lingered around the entrance, Mai with her usual expressionless face and Ty Lee with her bubbly smile. "Do you want to play with us?"

"Play? _Play_? I didn't think you _played_ Azula. Especially not with me," Anala snapped before chucking the pillow at her small cousin. _Since when does Azula want to play?_ Anala thought cautiously, eying her cousin closely for any signs of a lie. Then again, Azula had always been a good liar, too good in Anala's opinion. "Well?" her cousin asked sharply.

"No," answered Anala flatly. "Go play with Zuko." Azula snarled at her before turning and walking away with her minions following closely behind but not before Mai could give her a dirty look and for Ty Lee to give her a large smile. Ty Lee was the nicest, she was always so bubbly and that was one of the reasons Anala liked her so much. When Azula and Mai weren't around, the two would sneak off to share stories and teach each other tricks. Anala knew more about cart wheels that she did about firebending.

She stared at the red ceiling. _Spirits, why is everything so red? _She sat up, realising at that moment that she didn't like red at all. She laughed to herself. The laughter echoed off the walls making it sound like a mad woman was in her room laughing about spirits knows what. She lay back down and tried to find some other small, insignificant thing to entertain her small mind with. Why was the sky blue? That was a question she often wondered about.

The sound of squelching wet shoes sounded off the halls. She rolled her eyes thinking it was Azula coming back for one last try to get her to _play_. "Yeah right," she muttered before she grabbed two more pillows and ran to the door, as if she was preparing herself for battle. "For the last time, I don't want to play with you!" she screeched before she pegged the pillows as hard as she could at the person. The cries weren't Azula's, they weren't Mai or Ty Lee's either. She was shocked to see Zuko lying on the ground, staring at her with bewilderment that she returned. "You're all wet," she stated dumbly, taking in her cousin's saturated clothes. Zuko looked close to tears; she ran to his side and helped him stand before taking him into her room.

She gave him a blanket to wrap around himself since he was shivering like a newborn animal. She rubbed his arms to get some warmth into him. "Was it Azula?" she asked, still rubbing his arms to warm him up.

"She put an apple on Mai's head and then set it on fire. I saved her by pushing the both of us into the fountain. She laughed at me," Zuko said, his eyes downcast as if he was ashamed for being upset. _For being weak, uncle would have said,_ Anala thought bitterly. She always thought it unfair on Zuko to always be compared to his little sister. _'Why can't you be more like Azula?'_ she'd heard her uncle question him once. She hadn't felt more hatred for her uncle then she did that day. She watched sadly as a single tear escaped his eye and trickled down his cheek. "Father is right, I am weak," Zuko said as he rubbed the tear away.

"You're not weak Zuko," Anala said as she hugged him. "You're just a nice person, you're Father's just not … the type of person that likes nice people. It's okay to cry sometimes. Azula's just nasty like that. She's just doing it because she's Azula, you can't change that." Anala thought for a minute as if trying to make sense of the words that had just left her lips.

"But Azula's better at everything! She doesn't cry."

"Yeah right," said Anala sarcastically as she snorted with laughter. "I remember when she was little she had lost her toy and cried like a baby for two whole days. One day Zuko, she's going to explode because she's kept all this bottled inside. It's not good to bottle up your emotions." He didn't look convinced. "Zuko, will you promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Promise me that whatever happens in the future that you'll never forget who you are?" she asked him, looking straight ahead as if in a trance. He looked at her confused; he hadn't understood the meaning or why she wanted him to promise her that. It wasn't as if he was going to change anyway, nothing would change. Everything would stay the same. They both knew that, but still, Anala didn't want her cousin to change into a person who was a complete strange to her.

"Alright." Anala smiled and hugged him tighter when the words left his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Third chapter, I'll try to upload at least once a week. I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D**

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"You're father has sent gifts," said Ursa kindly as she sat down and opened a letter. Anala wanted desperately to see that, just to find comfort in seeing her father's writing but she felt as if she was intruding, as if she didn't deserve to see it. She shrunk away from Ursa and the letter, suddenly feeling unworthy. Anala, Zuko, Azula and Ursa laughed as the letter was read. "Until then, enjoy these gifts." The children ran to the servants who were holding their gifts.

"For my daughter, a boomerang, hand made by a local Water Tribe refugee who we captured." Anala reached and pulled the boomerang from its cover, watching as it shone in the light. How she longed to learn how to use it. It was green in colour, with a simple word carved into it. "Believe," she whispered to herself as she delicately ran her fingers over the word as if it was the very thing that kept her tied to the earth.

Zuko had gotten a dagger while Azula had received a doll. Anala had laughed at Azula's face but then she felt rage as she watched Azula burn the doll. _How dare she!_ She had almost run over to her cousin to hit her but Ursa held her back, giving her a sympathetic look. Anala took a big breath and turned away, walking to the garden where she would try to practice with her newly acquired weapon. It would be a breeze.

It wasn't.

Anala huffed in anger as she ran to where the boomerang had fallen to the earth without returning to her. "I thought you were supposed to come back," she muttered to it, rubbing her fingers over the word again. "Am I supposed to _believe_ in the boomerang or something?" She studied it further, glancing at it from all different angled like some kind of imbecile. "I believe you can work." She put her hand over her eyes and threw it again. She heard it as it cut through the air, she assumed that it had worked but when she opened her eyes she noticed the green boomerang lying on the ground. She groaned as she ran a hand through her hair. She walked over to it and picked it up for what felt like the thousandth time.

She sighed as she studied it yet again. "This is harder than it looks." She felt dumb for saying it out loud, but she was being completely honest. It was one thing to throw the weapon, it was an entirely different thing to have it actually come back like an obedient animal. She giggled to herself. It was ridiculously hard.

_Maybe that girl will know what to do with it, she's from the Water Tribe,_ she thought as she stood up. _But then again, she hasn't answered any of my other questions before now_. Conflicted, she simply returned to her room where she put the boomerang back in its cover and sat on her bed, going over her thoughts like so many other times. She played with the necklace that Zuko had gotten for her tenth birthday just a few days before. It was a simple red gem that was attached to a dark red ribbon. She adored it and had hugged Zuko so hard he couldn't breathe after he gave it to her. Azula had gotten her a matching bracelet that she knew Ursa had really gotten for her. She was thankful she hadn't gotten a rotten fish like Azula had given her for her eighth birthday. She loved her family, she really did but still sometimes she could get annoyed with them.

She fiddled with the boomerang, watching as it gleamed in the light and how the word, that one simple word stood out as she moved it back and forth, making the light dance across it. It stood out so vividly, almost angelic like. She sighed, maybe one day it'd mean something.

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Weeks had passed since the arrival of the waterbender and the letter. Every day, Anala would run to the kitchens, steal a tiny morsel of food and take it to the girl, whom she still didn't know the name of. Anala certainly wasn't game enough to ask her how to use the boomerang.

At first the girl wouldn't move. She just sat in the corner watching the Fire Nation Princess critically. Eventually, she began to come closer and closer until one day; Anala noticed her sitting right at the bars of the cell, waiting. They didn't talk but still watched each other, as if they were trying to figure the other out and what kind of game they were playing. Anala figured her uncle hadn't found out what she was doing, she'd heard no complaints from the chef and none from the prison guards, so she figured everything was fine. She was safe.

Or so she thought.

The kitchen was as cold as usual; she rolled around on the floor from table to table towards her prize. She felt like a snake as she slithered along the ground, coming closer to her goal. She felt alive, like she was on some sort of secret mission. So close.

"What are you doing?"

She froze mid-roll. She looked out of the corner of her eye and smiled up at her uncle, well, she hoped it looked like a smile and not just a bad poker face. She rolled back on her tummy and jumped up, straightening her now dirty clothes in a poor attempt to look sharp. Her uncle frowned down at her and his nose crinkled in disgust at the filth on her clothes. "Nothing …" she trailed off, glancing around looking for a quick exit in case she needed it.

"I'm sure," her uncle drawled. He got up right close to her face, looking straight into her eyes. She resisted shuddering. His breath burned like fire in her face. "I suppose you wouldn't be getting food for a certain _prisoner_ in the cells, would you?" To say she was caught off guard was an understatement. She'd been so careful, she made sure she was silent and agile; she had made sure no one was around; she had made sure it stayed a secret. How could he possibly know? She felt as though she was on trial for a crime.

She shook her head as if getting rid of the thoughts and hoped she hadn't looked too guilty. "If you're implying that I've been feeding prisoners then you're _wrong_," she whispered dangerously low. "I was simply hungry and wanted something to snack on, but didn't want anyone seeing me. So if you don't mind," she snatched a roll from the table and took a large bit, keeping eye contact as she chewed and swallowed before pushing past her uncle. _How dare he?_ She thought. "You're forgetting, uncle, that it's _my _father who's next in line for the throne. Then my brother and then _me, _so I'd be careful if I were _you_."

The look in his eyes and the snarl that came from his mouth made the sensible part of her scream and cry out, urgently trying to tell her she'd made a major mistake but she just gave him a smug look before she left the room, still munching on the roll that was meant for the Water Tribe girl. She felt slightly bad that she wouldn't be able to get food to the girl, but thought it would be smart to lay low for a while.

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_I've waited long enough_, Anala reasoned with herself as she ran from the kitchen clutching another bread roll. It had only been a few hours since the encounter with her uncle, but she felt it was safe enough. This time, on her journey, she'd made sure to check every spot where someone could have been hiding. She didn't find her uncle; she didn't find anyone, just empty spaces between objects and the walls.

She slowly and quietly descended the steps into the darkness below. Could he already be in here? Lurking within the shadows like a monster or a creature from the dark? She began to sweat slightly in fear as she reached closer to the floor. He'd kill her, surely. The last thing she'd see would be his angry golden eyes. He'd do it, she knows he would.

She tightly shuts her eyes as she reached the last step, not wanting to go further but she knew she must, to help the girl. She took a breath and touched the floor, waiting for the shadows to engulf her and strangle her to death. It didn't come though so she opened her eyes just slightly. No uncle.

She sighed in relief and continued on her journey, still paranoid though. Would he follow her and just wait? Would he listen in on any conversation shared between the two girls? She growled in irritation at herself. Now wasn't the time to freak out.

The girl was waiting up close to the bars again, looking slightly annoyed. Anala seated herself in front of the blue-eyed girl. She handed the roll to the girl, who snatched it eagerly and began taking bites out of it. Anala closed her eyes and tried to relax; trying to forget her uncle though she had a feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"My name's Kai." It was barely audible but Anala heard it. Her eyes snapped up at the girl that sat opposite her, behind the metal bars. "I'm Anala," she reached her hand through the bars, making a friendly gesture. The girl just glared at the hand and Anala withdrew, shrugging as if it meant nothing. _One step at a time,_ she thought as she watched the girl take another small bite from the roll.

"Well, I'll see you later," Anala said as she stood, wiping the dirt from her bottom. She turned and left. Smiling at the sense of accomplishment she felt.

She thought that maybe, just maybe, the two could be friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four here we go. I wasn't really happy with this one but meh. I don't own Avatar (I wish I did). This is a longer chapter because they'd probably be short if I separated them.  
>Warning: Bashing, violence, hints of sexual abuse (very, very subtle (I think)) So, yeah. Enjoy :)<br>** I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D**  
>Oh, and also, I am going away for two weeks. I'll try to update once more next week and then it'll be about two or three weeks before I update next. <strong>

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_She was running. From what she didn't know but she felt the need to run away from the darkness that was chasing her. "Anala!" the shriek pierced through her ears and echoed in the dark empty spaces around her. She turned sharply into the darkness, trying to locate the voice. _

_"__Anala! Help!"_

_Her brother was there, hanging onto a ledge. One hand was keeping him from falling into the icy depths below him. The water crashed against the land seemingly getting higher and higher, as if the water was hungry. "Anala! Please!" She reached to take her brothers hand but he swiped at it._

_"__Lu! What are you doing?" She screeched as he repeated the motion, this time aiming for her face. _

_"__You! You will die!" Her brother's mouth had said the words but a demonic-like voice had replaced her brother's calm and kind one. She looked at him concerned and frightened as he started to change form into a gigantic, blue dragon with cold, golden eyes. "DIE!" It opened its mouth and went to bite her, to swallow her whole._

_She screamed._

"Anala?" A voice said softly near her, nudging her in her sleep. She screamed and swatted the hand away, not daring to open her eyes due to the fear. "Nala!" The voice whined. She was nudged again. Her eyes opened and she looked into the sorrowful face of her cousin. She looked at him confused, still sweating from her dream.

"It's Lu Ten." Her eyes opened wide and her heart stopped. She stared blankly at Zuko who stood there with large, tear filled eyes.

"What's wrong?" she questioned shakily. Zuko lowered his head without looking at her. "What has happened to my brother Zuko?" Again, Zuko would not answer. She threw back the blankets and sprinted from the room, looking for anyone who was willing to tell her what had happened. The whole way people just gave her sympathetic looks, nobody actually caring enough to explain to her what the situation was.

She spotted her Aunt Ursa by the pond in the garden. She ran up to her and stopped just behind the woman. "What happened to my brother?" she demanded. Ursa turned around, tears streaking down her face and looked at her sadly. "Tell me!"

"Lu Ten's dead."

Her heart felt like it had been catapulted from her chest. She felt cold, alone and frightened. "No," she whispered, backing away from her Aunt who tried to reach out to her. "NO!" she screamed before running. She heard her name being called but she couldn't hear anything over the pounding in her head. He can't be dead, he just can't. _Deny, deny, DENY! _

She ran through the blurred, red halls, which were beginning to close in on her, just like they had when she was trapped in the palace. She glared at people who she could see were giving her looks of pity. She didn't want their pity; she didn't want _anything _from them. She wanted her brother. Her eyes flooded with tears. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't.

But it was.

She ran to her room and slammed the door, hoping that nobody would follow her inside. She needed to be alone and she certainly didn't want her Aunts "comforting" words right at that moment. She jumped on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, panting in sadness and exhaustion from running around as if she was late for an important appointment. The dream from early had completely left her mind, she thought nothing. She felt nothing.

It took some time for her to calm down, after that she just felt broken, like a part of her had been ripped away and destroyed, never to be made whole again. She moved to her window to look out at the sky above, which had by then turned dark and filled itself with twinkling stars. She'd been crying for a long time. She leaned against the windowsill and watched as each of the stars twinkled brightly. What would happen now? What if her father also died in the war? Would her uncle become Fire Lord or would she be expected to step up and take over once her grandfather was dead and gone?

She wasn't ready, not at all. She had barely mastered the basics of firebending, never mind ruling a whole country and taking over a war. She couldn't even throw a boomerang properly for spirits sake! She buried her face in her hands and groaned with sadness. It was all messed up now. They couldn't possibly expect a child to take over the Fire Nation … could they?

Her head jolted up at the sound of voices echoing just down the hall. Who'd be up at this hour? She carefully opened her door slowly, making sure it made as little noise as possible. The hallways were covered with shadows, there was no movement but the sound of voices continued. She shut her door and crept down the dark halls. Unusual. The hallways were usually brightly lit, at all times during the night, and most of the time during the day. Maybe it was for Lu Ten.

The voices were muttered now, but, nonetheless, getting louder. The small glow of a fire was approaching, chasing the shadows away. She quickly hid behind the tapestries and waited, praying they wouldn't hear or see her. She went to push herself against the wall and almost squealed in surprise as she felt nothing there. It looked like some secret passage she'd never found before. She backed into it and knelt down, watching the feet shuffle past.

"Tonight, Ursa will put an end to my father," her eyes widened as she heard her uncle's voice, clear as a bell. What was going on? "My traitorous brother has decided to surrender now that his _precious_ son has gotten himself killed. I am one step closer to being Fire Lord, but tell me Commander Baku, what stands in my way?"

Commander Baku was her uncle's most trusted right hand man. They'd been friends ever since they were children and had turned into partners in crime apparently. "The girl," Commander Baku snarled.

"That's right. My _darling_ niece is the one thing that stands in my way of achieving my goal. Once she's out of the picture, it will be easy to succeed my father's throne." Anala bit down on her fist to keep herself from screaming in fear. "Take two of your best men. Only two. Get rid of her but make it look like an accident. It'll be less suspicious that way, since _everyone_ knows she's prone to injury. Make it happen tonight. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Ozai."

"Don't fail me."

Commander Baku turned and walked the other direction while her uncle continued on her path. "Oh, and Baku." There was a pause. "Get rid of that waterbender child while you're at it. She's nothing but a waste of space in my prison. You're on your way to becoming Admiral, my friend." She waited until the footsteps had faded into nothing before she came out of her hiding place, tearing at the hair on her head. She was so confused and unsure of what to do. _Run because if you stay here, they'll kill you,_ her head strongly suggested, though her heart told her something different, _find Kai_. She'd always been told to never listen to your head, so she did what her heart told her.

She stealthily ran down the halls, her red robes billowing behind her. She tried to be as calm as possible so she didn't slip up in panic. She jogged down the steps into the prison and grabbed the keys from the guard who looked at her, dumbfounded. She used a nearby lantern and smashed it on his head, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Anala quickly strode to Kai's cell and frantically whacked the keys into the lock struggling to find the right way to turn it. "What are you doing?" Kai whispered harshly.

"We have to go. Now!" said Anala as she finally heard the click and ripped the lock from the cell. She grabbed the girl's hand and ran from the underground prison, leaving the wailing prisoners behind who begged to be let out too. She would have, but there was no time. What she'd done was either really smart or really dumb, she prayed it wasn't the latter. "Where are we going?" questioned Kai who didn't pull away from Anala's grasp but went with her.

"We're leaving the Fire Nation."

"But … why?" the blue eyes were wide with confusion; Anala struggled not to hit her for being so annoying. Couldn't she tell that it wasn't the time for questions?

"Both you and I will die if we stay here, now be quite and let's go!" It came out harsher than she'd intended but they were wasting time with talking and probably giving away their position. They made quick left and right turns, rarely going in a straight path. She ran straight to her room to gather some things. "I thought we had to leave?" Kai snapped.

"We do," she grabbed her boomerang and her necklace that had been resting on her desk. "Now we go." They ran once more, not paying any attention to the sound their feet were making on the floor. They ran to the garden and Anala started to climb the tree which she'd used to escape many times before. It had grown right near the wall which made it easier to get past the guards. Nobody guarded the gardens all the time since they hadn't known the tree was her ladder to freedom. "I can't climb!" Kai stated, taking a step back. Anala held out her hand and made a noise to hopefully get the message across to Kai that _now wasn't the time_. She felt that at any moment, she'd vomit from the shock and disbelief. She'd lost her brother and now was facing the possibility of losing her own life and being responsible for Kai's death to top it all off.

Kai hesitated but grabbed the hand that was outstretched for her and helped her climb up and over the wall. Neither of the girls noticed the pair of eyes watching them as they left, motioning to others to follow.

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Trees whipped their faces as they ran through the thick forest, sea bound. The pair hadn't let go of each other's hand in fear of being left behind for dead or getting lost in the dark forest. Their pants filled the air and their feet crushed dead leaves and twigs as they ran. Their legs were tired and weak, their heads and hearts pounding. They wanted to stop but couldn't.

They were close. The monsters began to follow them as soon as they'd jumped from the tree it seemed. The three figures followed closely, never slowing in their pace like the girls were beginning to. Soon enough, the three figures would get them.

Kai staggered and fell on her hands and knees, probably scrapping them. She struggled to get up and the sound of the figure's laughter was getting close. "I've got you now," the voice whispered, mocking them. Anala looked to the oncoming shadows and to Kai. She grabbed Kai's hand and placed her boomerang and necklace inside it. "You can sell the necklace for money when you get the Earth Kingdom," Anala said more calmly than she felt. Inside she was terrified and shaking with fear.

"But what about you?" Kai screeched, her eyes wide.

"You go, go find your family, I'll keep them distracted." Kai was shaking her head violently. "You have a chance." Kai was about to protest further but the shadows were nearly there. She pulled the Water Tribe girl to her feet and pushed her. "GO!" she shouted. Kai didn't hesitate this time. The girl disappeared into the darkness like a ghost. Anala hoped she'd make it.

She was tackled to the ground by one of the figures. "Hello _Princess, _I got you," the man mocked. He hit her in the stomach, making all the air escape her. She gasped, trying in vain to get air back into her. "You are a pretty thing, aren't you?" he whispered into her ear. She trembled but managed to muster enough bravery to say "I'm not afraid of you." The man snorted and laughed loudly.

"Good job Taigo," she heard Commander Baku say in his deep voice. She felt someone kick her in the stomach. She cried out and clutched it, willing the pain to go away. "Shizuki, Taigo, hold her down. I'd like to give her a little … _mark _of my own." She struggled to get away from the two as they grabbed each side and held her down in the earth with her face being pushed in the dirt. She felt her clothes being burnt away. "No, please!" She whimpered but was answered with a hit to the face. "Shut up," Taigo snarled.

She could smell the fire before she could feel it. At first it didn't hurt but as the flame got closer to her skin she screamed and wiggled around in agony. She felt him write something across her lower back with fire as she cried out in pain. She wanted to just die, or pass out at least. The flames came from everywhere after that, each of the three hitting, kicking, punching, burning her until she felt numb. There was a pain in between her legs that made her cry more, tears mixing with cuts and burns on her face. "Please! Please! Stop! STOP!" but it was no use, the men continued their acts, humiliating her further.

After having finished with her, they kicked her around some more. One grabbed her hair before violently smashing her face into the ground. She screamed as a rock cut deep just above her eyebrow. The soldier repeated his movement and she stopped moving completely. No more tears, no more whimpers or cries of pain. Nothing. Just a body lying on the ground all bloodied and burnt.

"Let's go," Commander Baku said in his loud, booming voice. "Someone is bound to find her soon, we can't be seen just standing here."

"What are we going to say?" asked Shizuki. "This doesn't look like an accident at all."

"I know that," Commander Baku said calmly. "Why do you think you're here?" There was silence between the two soldiers. "You didn't actually think you'd be able to live after this? One of you might crack under pressure. I'm sorry, you two have been loyal but I can't let you risk blowing it."

"Wait a mi-" Commander Baku swiftly threw a dagger which hit Taigo in the neck. He gurgled and attempted to pull the dagger from his neck but fell to the ground before he could even locate it. Shizuki turned to run but Commander Baku was too quick and had grabbed him from behind, slitting his throat easily.

Commander Baku began making his way back to the palace, not bothering to glance back at the damage he'd done. If he had looked back, he may have spotted the rise and fall of Anala's chest. Or maybe he would have noticed her eyes had opened, not much, but still just slightly open.

She glared at the sky above her, tears started to flow from her eyes again. She felt weak and dirty, she just wanted to die. Everything was fading; she wondered briefly whether if that was it, if death was just darkness that she'd have to live in for eternity. Everything began to slip away. _So close,_ she thought as the world began to disappear. There was the faint, muffled calling of her name and the gold eyes met the blue.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello. I'm sorry for not updating sooner but I was away and then had to come back and study for a test in one day. This is just to fill you in on what happened after. I think this is going to be the shortest chapter yet, so sorry about that. The next one will be longer I promise. Holidays are coming in a few days so I will have plenty of time to upload more chapters ^_^ Enjoy  
><strong> I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D<strong>  
><strong>

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"You have done well Baku," said Ozai as the two looked out a window towards the crowd of people, waiting for his crowning to start. "Today, I shall be crowned Fire Lord. The world is mine." Silence fell upon them as they continued to watch as people stood in their place, mourning the loss of the former Fire Lord and waiting to celebrate the crowning of the new Fire Lord.

"They are still doubting it," Baku spoke softly, he was afraid of angering Ozai. He had told the people of the Fire Nation that he'd found two soldiers, Shizuki and Taigo, beating Anala to death. He'd given them a tearful retell of the tale and how he had _tried _to save her but he was too late. He'd told them how he'd killed the two soldiers for their vicious actions against the royal family and proceeded to run back to the palace to tell anyone he could of what happened.

He, Ozai and a few generals had run to the spot but Anala was missing. Ozai had glared at Baku, who'd quickly stated that an animal must have dragged her off, which would explain the drag marks. The generals seemed to believe the story for the moment, but upon arriving back to the palace they began to whisper about plots and how it must have all been set up. It couldn't just all be a coincidence that the only children of the Crown Prince Iroh could just be killed around the same time.

"Then do something about it," spoke Ozai low, not taking his eyes from the scene. Baku raised an eyebrow in confusion staring intensely at his friend. "Find a girl, similar to Anala of course, but a girl that nobody will worry about. A homeless orphan, perhaps?"

"But, surely someone will notice the differences!" exclaimed Baku, his eyes wide. Had Ozai lost his mind already?

"You didn't think I wanted you to just _kill_ the girl, did you? Burn her beyond recognition, make it look as though an animal _had_ really taken her. Do something to back up the story. Surely you're capable of that on your own." Baku stared blankly at Ozai. "Go to it then, I want my reign to extend further than just a few days."

Baku turned quickly and shuffled away. He moved through the crowds of people, pushing and shoving them from his path as he headed to the town in search of a girl, any would do. She'd have to have Anala's soft, ebony locks though… and her bright, golden eyes... and her sweet smile. Spirits, what had he done?

He leaned against a building, feeling the cold bricks was discomforting on his back as he tried to push away the overwhelming need to sob. _Why did I do it?_ He hit his head over and over, trying to knock the guilty feeling out of him. If Ozai saw him at this moment, he'd surely kill him, childhood friend or not.

"Get away you dirty child!" his head snapped towards the shriek and he watched as a woman shoved a girl back to the ground, who sobbed. "Go on, get!" The girl stood and ran from the woman who stuck her nose in the air and continued on her journey. The girl's hair was slightly lighter than Anala's, her skin was a shade darker and her eyes weren't the same golden colour, more a light brown but they'd do. It was all a problem that could easily be fixed. Nobody wanted the girl around obviously, judging by the way people scrunched their noses as she ran past them in her attempt at escaping from the woman. It was perfect.

He followed the girl through the filthy back streets and until she stopped at the edge of the forest, still sobbing. He felt pity for the girl and almost turned away.

Almost.

He snuck up behind the girl and put a knife to her throat. "I'm sorry," he whispered before he dug the blade in and sliced it across her neck. He then proceeded to take chunks out of her side, trying to make it look like an animal had eaten at her. He burned her skin, cut her face and singed her hair. He felt his soul detach from him as he repeatedly burned the girl. No one would know. No one would even care. It was all perfect, maybe a bit too perfect but he didn't question it. He was determined not to come face to face with death during this war, especially at the hands of his childhood friend.

Once he'd finished, he took a step back. No one would be able to tell the difference between Anala and the orphan girl after that, not even the Princess' own father would be able to tell that the body was a fake. He wouldn't even have been able to tell the difference if he hadn't done it himself. Only Ozai and Baku would know, it was their secret. Their dirty, vicious secret. No one would know. No one.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again! This is probably the most of a story I have ever written and haven't gotten sick of yet which is the biggest achievement ever. So I've been pretty busy and stuff and don't tell my mother but I was writing this instead of my essay. Shhh. Been working a lot, but its good pay around Easter :D Anyway, enjoy chapter six!  
>Oh and I've seen the first two episodes of Avatar: Legend of Korra, you should check it out. It's sad that everyone is gone but I reckon it is worth the watch ;)<br>** I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D**  
><strong>

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Everywhere hurt. From her head all the way down to the tips of her toes ached with pain and she longed to end it. _Is this it? Am I stuck in an afterlife where there is nothing but pain?_ She mustered enough energy to open her eyes and immediately regretted the decision. She groaned as the light burned her eyes, she rubbed them in an attempt to make the pain go away. "You're awake." The statement was unnecessary; it just caused her headache to worsen. She was sure the person who'd spoken had only whispered, but she felt like someone had shouted it into her ear.

After a few moments, she prepared herself to open her eyes once more. It wasn't as painful as the first time she'd opened them, but it still hurt. She took in their surroundings. The walls were made of metal and there were crates and boxes everywhere. "We're in a Fire Navy ship," Kai stated as she noticed the ex-princess' eyes wander around the room.

"What?" Kai hushed her.

"I had to. It was the only way to get us both out of the Fire Nation!" Kai pushed Anala back down. She pushed Kai's hand away and proceeded to sit up, ignoring the pain that rippled through her body as she did so. "You shouldn't move. I was able to heal most of your wounds… others… well…"

Anala reached back, and felt the skin along her back. It was all smooth until she came to a point where there was a bit of cloth wrapped around. She pushed it aside slightly and felt the soft, raw flesh that was there. "I tried to heal it, but I'm only a basic healer. I've never been taught. I only found out I could do it when I was little. I'd forgotten about it until I touched your wound that was wet from all the water that's leaking somewhere in here."

"What does it say?" Anala asked, her voice barely audible. Kai hesitated, wondering whether she should tell the girl or not. "Tell me," Anala demanded.

"Traitor."

Anala cringed. She wasn't a traitor, she knew it. The only traitor was her uncle. He'd turned against his own father, his own wife, his own brother and his own niece just to grab the power. She wanted him dead. She wanted to rip him to pieces with her bare hands. She felt broken, hurt and betrayed. Most of all, she wanted revenge. Commander Baku would die too. "Are you alright?" Kai was looking at her with wide, terrified eyes, only at that moment had Anala realised her face was scrunched in rage. She imagined herself as a snarling platypus bear, mad with rage.

"They'll all die," snarled Anala. "They'll pay for this." Kai stared off into space as if she wasn't listening to a word Anala was saying. "What _are_ you thinking about?"

"Not like I'm going to tell _you_," Kai growled before turning her back. Anala was about to hit her. _What's her problem,_ Anala wondered not genuinely caring. "Here are your things by the way," Kai shoved the boomerang and necklace into Anala's hands before looking away once more.

She huffed and turned away from the blue-eyed girl and went deep into her thoughts. She shuddered. She could still feel their hands on her body, she could feel them everywhere. The scars she would have would be a permanent reminder of what they'd done to her, a reminder of how much she'd lost that night. A reminder to hurt them just as much as they'd hurt her. She decided then and there that she wouldn't rest until Commander Baku was dead by her hands.

A piece of green breed was waved in front of her face, abolishing her thoughts. "You hungry?" Kai asked as she continued to wave the piece of bread back and forth.

"Why do you care?" grumbled Anala as she stuck her tongue out in disgust at the bread. "I wouldn't eat a piece of mouldy bread anyway. That's _disgusting_." Anala turned her head away from the bread, her nose held high in the air. She was hungry, starving actually, but there was no way she was going to succumb to eating mouldy bread like a common orphan on the street.

Kai snorted. "You're not a princess anymore." Anala growled at her, ready to strike. "This is all we have, so unless you want to starve for the next week or two, then you better eat up. I've been eating it for the past eight days and I've been just fine."

"I've been out for eight days!" Anala shrieked, Kai had to shush her once again.

"Yes and if you don't shut up they'll find us! I've come too far to die now," Kai snapped. Anala felt the urge to smack the girl in the face rose again. She calmed herself though, the girl _had, _after all, healed her even if it was only slight, she'd also _saved _her. Anala's stomach gurgled and she sighed before snatching the bread from Kai who smiled smugly at her. Kai couldn't help but laugh as she watched the former princess try to keep the bread down. Anala didn't find it funny at all but ended up laughing with her, but it was a hollow laugh filled with nothing. She felt the same, hollow and filled with nothing.

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"Did you hear them say anything about land?" Anala slurred sleepily as Kai returned from the ladder where she was listening in on conversations of the soldiers above. She shook her head and Anala sighed in irritation. They had no idea how long that they'd been on the ship but they knew it has been far more than a couple of weeks. Their mouldy bread supply was running short, not that the soldiers really noticed, and drinking sea water that was leaking through a tiny crack in the ship was not good for them at all, it only made them thirstier. There was always the alcohol if things became desperate, but both girls were hesitant because they were only kids and they were also afraid of what might happen. The soldiers hadn't noticed the bread going missing but surely they'd get suspicious if the alcohol suddenly disappeared. It was the only crate they seemed to visit regularly.

"Once we get to land, I'll find a ship that can take you home to the Northern Water Tribe," Anala slurred suddenly, her eyebrows narrowed which made her appear as if she was concentrating. Kai was silent, Anala wasn't exactly sure why. She concluded that it was the overwhelming feeling of hope that had silenced the girl.

"What about you?"

_What about me?_ Anala thought. She was quiet as she tried to think of something she would do, anything to survive. "I'll work," Anala said slowly, as if she was using the ability of speech for the first time. "And then I will go to Ba Sing Se." More silence. Kai didn't say anything, but Anala could tell by the look on her face that it was a terrible idea, they both knew it. "I'll make it work." Kai sighed and shook her head before wandering to the opposite side of the ship where she sat; staring at the wall like it was the most interesting thing she'd ever seen in her life.

Anala felt like stretching her legs, she'd been sitting in the same spot for a long time and it was starting to take effect on her. She pushed herself up carefully, still sore from her injuries that hadn't quite healed yet. The broken ribs, which she had discovered a while after she'd woken up, were something Kai couldn't heal. She only hoped they would heal properly or they could find someone to check them out when they reached land.

She weaved through the gaps between the crates that only Kai and Anala could fit through. They had a small hideaway behind them all where the soldier couldn't see them but would be able to hear them if they made any noise. She ventured into the crates and tried to find something for her and Kai to eat. Nothing. Not one crate had something edible inside. She sighed. _If we get hungry we'll have to eat the crates,_ she thought as she grabbed the side of one and felt the wood. It was damp and mould had started to grow on it. Vermin had started eating away at it too, out of desperation. She cringed, not looking forward to the day when they'd have to munch on wood.

No food and no water. They were filthy and tired. They were wet and smelly. She thought of how they'd finally die. Would they starve and just die? Would they die from thirst? Maybe the vermin would get so hungry they would suddenly acquire a taste for humans. Or maybe they'd shrivel up into prunes from being in the water too long. Maybe they'd drown. They'd both noticed the small crack in the ship get steadily bigger during their stay. It would only take one small bump to make it into a gigantic hole where water would flood in.

She walked through the gap once more and made her way back to their hiding spot. Her head was held low, she couldn't hold it up because she was so hungry. She plopped herself down on the floor, making a slight splash as her body connected with the rising water. She was ready to accept her fate. She was going to die. She would have rather died the night she was attacked but she supposed the spirits really did hate her and wanted her to suffer the very worst before she took her last breath in that world.

She pressed her forehead on the cold metal and groaned, trying to forget everything, her hunger, her thirst, she tried to forget everything she felt. She felt as though she was going mad. Who knows how long they've been in the ship, or how long they'd remain in there. She imagined herself somewhere else, someplace nice where she'd be able to live without the worry of her family killing her off. She even imagined the ship coming to a sudden halt she was that far into her fantasy. "Did you feel that?" asked Kai from the opposite side of the ship. Kai's mind had also wandered off when she felt the ship come to a sudden halt.

"It's not real," mumbled Anala. "The spirits are taunting us. Can't you see? They want us to go mad before we die."

"Come on you lot! We've reached land! Get your lazy arses up!" The girls snapped towards the bellowing voice and then ran over to each other in excitement. They squealed and hugged each other as they jumped around happily, thrilled to have finally reached land. They stopped suddenly and realized what they were doing. Kai pushed Anala away roughly and disappeared into the cracks between the crates. "Let's go!"

"But what if they see us?" Anala asked, following closely behind the younger girl.

"It's night, and they've probably all left the ship by now. Look, if we don't get out of here now who knows when we will be able to get off if they decide to sail again." Anala didn't argue further, she continued to follow her up the ladder and up onto the deck. She took in a deep breath, sucking in the fresh air. She'd never appreciated it as much as she did that moment. "Come on," whispered Kai before she grabbed a hold of Anala's wrist and dragged her to the plank. They bolted down it and continued to run, even though Anala was slightly limping as she ran.

The smell of smoke filled their nostrils and the sound of screams assaulted their ears. The light of a fire could be seen and ash filled the air and covered the ground. "What's happening?" Anala called out to Kai who continued to pull her companion along.

"The Fire Nation must be attacking a village!" Kai yelled back to her. Anala felt as if she'd done this all before. The running through the woods and the way that the low branches hit her exactly where she'd been hit the night of her attack, it brought back memories. The only thing that was different was the fact that Kai was the one pulling her along this time, the one who knew exactly what she was doing and not the one that was helplessly lost and being dragged along.

"Shouldn't we help?" Kai came to a stop and turned to Anala.

"What could we possibly do Anala?" Anala noticed from the light of the nearby flames the water that was trickling down Kai's cheeks. Kai's tears ran down her face and dripped off her chin to the earth below their feet. "We're only two kids, we can't do anything. We have to save ourselves. We don't know these people so it doesn't matter!" Kai turned again and ran, this time she didn't grab hold of Anala's wrist, forcing Anala to have to run harder to keep up with her even though her leg felt as though it was about to fall off.

They ran right by the village that was under attack by the Fire Nation but could do nothing. Anala peaked a look and was horrified to see that the villagers that were fighting back were also firebenders, only a few were earth benders. She managed to pull her eyes away before she saw anything else. The screams would haunt her forever. How could people do this to other people? She'd felt what it was like to be burned and she knew it wasn't a pleasant experience.

She managed to catch up with Kai and ran by her side. Together the two ran further than they ever had before, even on the night of the attack. This time there was no one chasing them but the feeling was there, the darkness chased them. It would always chase them.

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The screaming had faded and the flames had burned out. They sat on a small hill at the entrance of a cave watching as smoke billowed from the village remains. The smell of burnt flesh was thick in the air; even where they were they could smell it strongly. The screaming had been silenced quickly during the attack; it made Anala sick to her stomach. She wondered whether anyone had survived the brutal, unexpected attack. She highly doubted it. She felt terrible for sitting up on the hill, safe from danger watching them die quick but still painful deaths. "Why?" Anala whispered, not looking at Kai.

"The Fire Nation is ruthless," Kai simply stated her voice just above a whisper. They were afraid that their voices would carry and the soldiers would hear them. Anala turned her eyes towards the sky where the stars twinkled and the moon shone, almost full. She felt helpless at that point, broken beyond repair. She felt the bitterness fill her like poison. Nothing would be the same again. She stood and made her way into the cave, "Are you coming in?" she asked Kai who simply turned the other way. "Freeze then." She continued to journey into the dark cave, holding a small flame in her palm to see. She rested on one of the walls that slanted so that she had something to lean her head on. It wasn't the comfiest pillow in the world, but what other choice did she have? She extinguished the fire and turned away from the mouth of the cave where Kai was sitting, watching her carefully. Anala pretended not to notice.

The cave was dark, damp and cold, much like the ship but instead of feeling the cool metal against her skin, she felt the hard earth and she could honestly say she would still rather be in the ship. She was terrified of the cave but refused to go back outside where Kai would be waiting with some smart remark about being afraid. There was a faint sound of rain splattering on the ground and Kai cursing softly, her footsteps echoed against the cave walls.

She opened her eyes a crack to see the shadow of Kai move at the opposite side of the cave. She rolled her eyes, closed them and slowed her breathing, pretending she was asleep. She heard Kai's teeth chattering and the sound of her hands rubbing her bare arms as she tried to warm herself. Anala felt slightly bad but reminded herself that she didn't like Kai and that Kai didn't like her. Anala was warm enough since being a firebender caused her to be naturally warm and she was able to warm up fast. She would have thought that Kai, who grew up in the North Pole, would be more adapted to the cold than Anala, but she obviously thought wrong.

Anala was half asleep as she heard the sound of Kai shifting, she didn't even bother to look as she thought that Kai was moving around to try and get warm. She jolted forward as she felt Kai snuggling up against her back. "What are you doing?" Anala whispered harshly.

"Can I sleep with you?" Kai asked, then after a few pauses she added, "Please?" Anala frowned and grumbled before she lay back in her spot. "You're warm," Kai stated as an afterthought.

"Whatever. Just don't hit me in your sleep. And don't snore. Don't talk either." Anala tried to drift off to sleep again but found it hard as Kai continued to move and shift around against her back as if she was unsure of which side she wanted resting against Anala's back for maximum warmth. She decided against saying anything and instead closed her eyes once more. She couldn't be bothered saying anything to the girl. The girl was getting on her nerves. She'd risked her life to save her, first by getting her out of the cell and then by sacrificing herself so Kai could get out of the Fire Nation. She hadn't heard any form of thanks, which made her slightly mad. If anyone had risked their life to save her that night she'd follow them around and do whatever they wanted her to. She knew that if Kai was in her position she would have saved her own neck.

Anala frowned more; she was beginning to like the girl less and less, and wondered why she had even bothered to save her in the first place. _Always listen to your head_, she though before she drifted off to where shadows waited to torture her in her sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello! So here's Chapter Seven. I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender but I do own Anala, Kai and any other character that isn't from the series, and would appreciate if you asked for permission before using them :D Also, thank you to those people who reviewed, I really appreciate it :)  
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It was the most peaceful sleep she'd had. Not one nightmare, unlike every other night previously. She was just savouring the moment when something hard collided with her face. "OUCH!" she roared as she jolted up, thinking she was being attacked. She looked around in worry for her attacker but saw no one except Kai, who was suspiciously close. The girl was still asleep but was rolling all over the place, muttering words Anala couldn't make out. She was definitely the person who'd hit Anala, she knew she didn't do it to herself.

Anala huffed and punched Kai in the side before she stood and exited the cave. Kai screeches could be heard echoing off the walls of the cave. Anala continued to walk though, back to the shore where they'd run off that ship. Maybe someone would get rid of Kai for her. She imagined how peaceful it would be once the girl was gone. She was constantly making comments about every move Anala made or being very sarcastic about something. Everything about the girl made Anala want to punch her and, once again, she started to wonder why she bothered saving her.

"I'm telling you, there are only Fire Nation ships that way!" Kai yelled, chasing after Anala who was still storming away from the cave. Anala grunted and continued on her path, she thought if she ignored the girl long enough that maybe she'd go away. "Are you listening to me? What are you even doing? Where do you-"

"Kai, shut up," Anala said calmly. "I already have a headache because you _punched _me, I don't need to make it worse with your voice." Kai ran up to her side and walked at the same pace. The younger girl was fuming, and tried hard not to look at Anala who could honestly care less. "I promised I'd get you home, and that's just what I'm going to do."

The two made sure to avoid the burned village at all costs. There would be no survivors and nothing left to take, so there was no point venturing there. They circled around it and continued on until their feet touched sand. It was soft and warm under Anala's feet. She had a sudden flashback of her and her family at Ember Island, on one of their usual holidays.

"_I got you Lu!" little five year old Anala yelled as she tackled her older brother into the warm sand. She heard her father laugh as Lu Ten squealed in shock. She left her brother in the sand and ran to her father. "Daddy!" she cried joyfully, jumping into his arms. He laughed and hugged her tightly, not daring to let her go. She'd missed her father, he'd be so busy with the War, she barely got to see him. _

"_Hello my little princess, having fun?" Anala nodded wildly, her dark hair coming loose and falling around her face. _

"_Nala!" she heard Zuko call. She glanced over to where Zuko and Azula sat building a sand castle. Azula giggled as she waved to Anala. Anala jumped from her father's arms and ran over to the two, helping them. She loved the way the sand slipped through her fingers. It was so warm. She went and retrieved some more water and sat with her cousins. They continued to build their sandcastle as her father, uncle and aunt watched, smiling happily._

She kicked the sand angrily. _Stupid sand_, she thought. _Why did everything have to change?_. "Just as I thought," Kai whispered harshly as she grabbed Anala and pulled her into a bush. In front of them were at least twenty Fire Nation ships, all docked at the platforms and were roaming around on the boards. They were carrying all sorts of things and were leading people out who also looked to be Fire Nation. They were glancing around and chatting, small children clung onto women while their eyes scanned the surroundings. "Do you believe me now?"

"Well, obviously," Anala snapped, careful not to take her eyes away from the scene in front of them. "We'll have to go find another place." Kai groaned in irritation. "Well it's your only chance to get home."

"What if I don't _want_ to go home?" asked Kai.

"Well then I'll _make _you go home," said Anala.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" Anala was the first one to make the move. She swung out her fist and it collided with Kai's nose. Instead of moving away to recover from the attack like Anala had expected her to do; she swung her own fist out and slammed it into Anala's jaw. She winced as her teeth bit into her tongue. She snarled and pounced on Kai whose nose was dripping with blood. The two wrestled on the ground, sand covering them and their clothes. They rolled onto the beach, still holding each other roughly and getting hits in here and there.

Anala yelped and tears filled her eyes as Kai's nails dug into her back where her scar was. She reached around and backhanded Kai across the face, sending the younger girl flying off her. She stood shakily and made her way over to the girl, she was far from finished. She grabbed Kai's long dark hair and pulled her up before punching her in the gut, not once, not twice but three times. Kai gasped for breath and before Anala could get in a fourth hit, Kai kicked her in the shins, forcing her to let go of Kai.

Anala stumbled back, Kai still coming at her with kicks. As she bent to rub her aching shin, Kai kicked up and it collided with her mouth. She cried in pain, and backed up, taking a moment to assess the situation and plan an attack to get back at the girl. As Kai moved closer, Anala swung out her hand and brought her nails along Kai's face. The younger girl screeched and reached to cover the scratches. Before the two could continue fighting, they noticed two soldiers coming towards them. "Go, go, GO!" Anala shouted as she pushed Kai back towards the forest. Once again, the two found themselves running. Anala was getting sick of it.

It didn't take them long before they managed to lose the soldiers and had since decided to keep travelling inland. The further away from the shores the better, since there was sure to be more Fire Nation ships would be waiting. "You're going to have to cut your hair," Kai stated as they wandered through the forest, dead leaves crushed beneath their feet and made loud crunching noises. They'd lost their shoes the night they escaped and hadn't bothered with anything to substitute. By that time their feet had already toughened up slightly, but were still sensitive to the sharp objects they stepped upon.

"My hair?" Anala asked in a whisper as she curled her finger around one of the loose ebony locks that was resting on her shoulder. It had grown so long. She hadn't allowed it to be cut much when she was little and had preferred to keep it long, it suited her better that way. "I suppose it makes sense doesn't it? Someone might recognise me or suspect I'm Fire Nation with this style." She pulled out the tie that kept her hair in a bun on the top of her head. The black hair fell down her back, tangled and destroyed. "It used to be so soft," she muttered as she ran her fingers through the knots.

"Yeah, mine too," Kai sighed. "I think I'll cut mine too, just so it's easier to maintain."

"How the hell are we going to cut it though? I only have my boomerang and my necklace, and you don't look like your hiding a dagger in those _prison clothes_ of yours," Anala said as she pulled the red shirt that was two sizes too big on Kai. She glared and huffed, pushing her brown hair from her face.

"You're right. We'll have to get new clothes too. We can't exactly walk around with me dressed in red Fire Nation prison clothes and you in those robes," Kai poked Anala in the chest. She glanced down and took in her clothing. Though it was worn and torn in several different places, it was still expensive looking. Still _Fire Nation _looking.

"Yeah, well, how are we going to get new clothes?"

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…

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"You're crazy!" Anala whispered to Kai who was crawling along in the bushes towards a clothes line where simple Earth Kingdom clothes blew gently in the wind. The woman had just finished putting the clothes on the line and had walked into the street and headed towards the market. Once she was out of the picture, Kai wasted no time in making a move.

"Be reasonable!" Kai whispered back.

"Reasonable? This is _stealing_!" Anala harshly whispered, shuffling along on her hands and knees after Kai in an attempt to stop the theft that was about to take place. "We'll be labelled as criminals!"

"It's not stealing, it's _borrowing_,' said Kai matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, without permission and also, with no intention of ever returning what you're _borrowing_!" Kai just laughed and waved her hand as if trying to swat her words away. "Don't you da-"

"Shush!" Kai whispered, holding her finger to her lip. Her lip was split from their scuffle early in the morning. "It's the sound of … I DON'T CARE!" Anala's ears trembled as the last part was shouted into her ear. She was stunned from the noise, giving Kai the chance to get up and run to the clothes. Anala ran up behind her but was stopped as Kai threw a dress into her face. "Put this on, hurry."

"If you think I'm go-"

"Is anyone there?" The two looked at each other with fright and eyes wide. They turned and headed towards the bush but Kai stopped and grabbed a nearby knife and returned to the bush where they saw the woman come back to the clothesline. "Come on," Kai whispered as she nudged Anala towards the trees more.

"You're crazy!" Anala stated again as Kai took off, Anala didn't hesitate to follow, especially when she heard the woman scream "Thieves, thieves!" Kai laughed ahead of her, sounding slightly mad. "You're a bad person!" Anala yelled up to her, Kai just laughed and bounded through the thick forest. They stopped momentarily to discard their old clothes and throw on the new ones. Kai was wearing a simple forest green kimono while Anala was wearing sickly green, patched-up dress. "You did this on purpose … didn't you?"

"Shut up and cut your hair off!" Kai took the knife she'd stolen and started hacking at your hair.

"Stop, stop! You're going to hack your head off if you don't stop that! Let me do it." Anala gently took the knife from Kai and started to cut the girl's hair, parting her head on the left side so that more of it fell to the right side of her head. She didn't look completely different, but the different hair style would make her appear different from a distance. It was all cut neatly to her shoulders when Anala was finished. She then took the knife to her own hair and held some in front of her. She hesitated slightly before she cut through, she didn't stop until the hair was well above her shoulders. It felt all choppy and was definitely not neat like Kai's was. But after seeing what Kai was doing with the knife, she had no intention of asking the younger girl to cut her hair. "How do I look?" Anala asked, hoping for a kind opinion.

"You look like a boy in girl's clothing," Kai stated flatly, not missing a beat.

"Thank you for your support Kai," Anala said sarcastically as she kicked the old torn clothes and hair into a nearby bush, to make it less visible. "Where do we go now?"

"Ba Sing Se!" Kai shouted pointing towards the direction they had just fled from and started to march that way.

"We just came from there," Anala said, as she watched with a smirk as Kai stopped in her tracks, spun around and pointed in the other direction.

"To Ba Sing Se!" she said with triumph.

"We don't have a map either, so how do we know that is the way?" asked Anala, leaning on the tree nearest to her with her arms crossed against her chest.

"We'll ask for directions," Kai said without stopping her march.

"You wouldn't rather go home?" asked Anala.

"I'd rather stay and annoy you. And besides, you'd be dead now if it weren't for me. So come on princess, the big city waits for us!" Anala scoffed but nonetheless pushed away from the tree and followed her waterbending companion, who punched Anala in the arm once she'd reached her side. "That's for scratching me."

"Fair enough," Anala laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! ** I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D **Sorry for not updating in a while. It's holidays and I've had a lot of people over. :) So, chapter eight. Nothing must really else to say so here it is:**

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Anala's eyes snapped open. She glanced around the dark cave, as if expecting something to pop out of the cold, damp rock and attack her. She felt Kai move against her back, muttering something in her sleep before she stilled once more. Anala smiled slightly before she stood and made her way to the entrance of the cave to see that the sky was beginning to brighten and the stars were disappearing.

She made her way around to a small part surrounded by trees and breathed in, her eyes closed as she listened to everything around her. She felt the power as the sun began to rise, she'd missed it. It'd been so long since she done anything except make a simple flame for light or to start a fire. She breathed in and out before she began doing the basic moves she'd been taught. She spun and created a huge ball of fire which she aimed towards a small tree opposite her. It almost hit the plant before she extinguished the fire.

It wasn't anything big but she felt much more at ease just letting it go. She continued making balls of flames, practising the moves she'd been taught. It made her think of home which hurt her but she didn't stop. Her moves began to get more aggressive and wild. She thought of her uncle, of Baku, the two that had plotted against her; the two that had tried to assassinate her. She screamed at the top of her lungs as she created a large flame and smashed it into a tree nearby, setting it alight. She panted heavily as she watched the tree burn. She made the flames grow stronger and bigger before the tree finally fell to the ground, burnt to a crisp.

She growled as she tried to keep tears from leaking from her eyes. She gripped the sides of her head and ripped at her hair, her teeth gritted together as she groaned in despair. Once she couldn't take it anymore, she collapsed to the ground groaning in pain and sorrow. She pulled herself into a small ball and cried. She felt the need to rip into something to vent her anger.

"Hello."

She almost jumped out of her skin as she heard the simple word. She rolled and sprung up into a standing position, holding out her arms in defence. She had a sudden thought that she'd never be safe again, that she'd always be on her toes and ready to fight if the time presented itself. It was all thanks to Commander Baku. She dropped her arms slightly in disbelief as she stared blankly at the small boy in from of her. He waved slightly at her, grinning widely. Her eye twitched. "Are you ok?" he asked, taking a step towards her.

"Stay back," she threatened keeping her eyes narrowed. He looked slightly taken aback but still advanced towards her. "Are you deaf?" she shrieked as she stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from him.

"No, my name is Fritz," the boy laughed, stepping closer until Anala was backed up against a tree.

"You know what I meant," she snarled, waving a fist at him. "What's a little boy like you doing out here anyway? Shouldn't you be at home with mummy and daddy?" Her mockery seemed to trigger something inside the kid, his green eyes turned fierce.

"I'm nine, I'm not a little kid!" he snapped making Anala laugh.

"Whatever, I've got to go. I don't have time to play silly little games," Anala chuckled as she ran into the trees. "Hey wait!" she heard him call out but she ignored and just ran through the trees, trying to lose him before returning to the cave where Kai was still, hopefully, asleep.

The sound of water rushing onto land as well as voices made her pause and listen. She curiously made her way towards it. She fell backwards as she caught sight of dark-skinned men in blue clothing. She watched as they interacted with each other, setting up camp it looked like. She almost squealed with joy as she overheard that they were leaving the next day at midday, to return back to their Tribe.

"This is it!" she mumbled to herself. It was it. She finally had her chance to get rid of Kai, it felt like a dream come true. Kai had told her a number of times that she didn't want to go home, but Anala could see she was lying. She's seen the way she looks off into the distance, towards the water. She knew that Kai longed to go home to be reunited with her family. The men could be the chance to get her home.

She looked at them once more before turning, vowing to bring Kai back the next morning so she could go home.

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…

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"And just where have you been?" Kai demanded as Anala returned. The younger girl stood at the mouth of the cave, hands on hip and her foot tapping the ground. Anala had never experienced anything like that from anyone since her mother had died when she was born and Ursa rarely badgered her, but she'd seen the way some mothers acted towards their children that had disappeared somewhere. Kai reminded her of a mother and it annoyed her to no end. _Just one more day,_ Anala thought happily.

"To the moon and back," Anala muttered sarcastically as she pushed past the girl and into the cave.

Kai followed closely behind, reaching out to grab Anala's arm but she continued to pull away. "You are _hilarious._ Seriously, where were you?"

"I found you a way home."

The silence fell on them like a tonne of rocks. Kai stared blankly at Anala, as if she could not believe what she was hearing. Anala watched her reaction carefully, wondering whether the girl would take the offer and sail on home where her family were surely waiting for her. Anala knew that if her uncle wasn't trying to kill her and she just happened to be lost on a strange land, she'd take any opportunity she could to get back home to where things were familiar and where her family would be. But her situation was nothing like Kai's; _she_ didn't have an uncle willing to kill her off to grab power or a Commander who would do anything to get a greater title. She was sure Kai had a nice family who loved her and was missing her dearly. "I'll take you there in the morning, they are leaving at midday," Anala spoke when Kai seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

"What about you though?" _Why do you care? _Anala thought. The two had never really become great friends. True, they weren't enemies but they certainly wouldn't consider themselves friends in any way, shape or form. Anala thought Kai would have demanded to take her to the Water Tribe soldier's camp just to get away from her. Anala had to agree that the girl had begun to grow on her. She let Kai snuggle against her back on cold nights, even if she did roll around slightly too much for Anala's liking. Anala knew what she was going to do but she knew there was always the possibility of her failing ... but she'd try.

"Same plan, I'll go to Ba Sing Se," Anala said carelessly as if they were discussing the weather.

"We don't even know where we are and you are willing to travel, by yourself might I add, to Ba Sing Se in the hopes of being able to get in and start a new life hoping and praying no one will notice you're a firebender?" Kai asked, her eyes bulging out of her head and gasping from saying all that with just a single breath.

"Do you ever breathe?" Anala chuckled. "And yes, that's what I'm going to do. I've got no other plan and nothing to lose." Kai just looked at Anala in disbelief but dropped the subject. Instead, she sat next to Anala on the cave floor in silence. Anala enjoyed the last of the girl's company. She would never ever admit it aloud but she would miss her sarcastic, waterbending companion.

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The morning came too quickly for Anala's liking. She got Kai up before the sun rose and made their way towards the shore in silence. Anala stopped away from the beach, not wanting to see Kai reunited with people like her. "Well, it's just through those trees," Anala said, pointing at the thick group of trees in front of them.

"You're not coming?" asked Kai, looking sadly at Anala.

"No, I ... um, better get started on my journey. Don't want to be travelling in the dark, do I?" Anala chuckled nervously. She could feel her eyes watering and quickly covered it up by yawning.

"So this is it then?" Kai whispered, looking at her feet. "You realise we will never see each other again, right?"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Anala asked, Kai snapped her head up and glared at Anala. She had tears streaking down her face.

"Oh, just forget it. Goodbye and have a good life!" Kai screeched before turning quickly and stomping towards the trees.

"Yeah, well don't let the trees hit you on the way out!" Anala yelled back before she turned herself around and stormed the other way before slowing her walk and coming to the realisation that she would indeed never see Kai again. She stopped and turned around to watch Kai go. A single tear fell from her eye as she noticed the girl hadn't slowed her pace and probably didn't turn back. She angrily wiped the tear away and walked away, leaving the girl behind her. _Good riddance, _she thought, but even thinking those two words made her hurt.

If she had of looked for longer she would have seen Kai stop in front of the trees and glance back before she huffed and pushed herself through the trees.

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…

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_Snap!_

Anala snapped a small twig off a nearby tear and twirled it around in her fingers. It was lonely now and she entertained the idea that she might go insane from the silence. She might begin to talk to herself more often, maybe even befriend a rock or, perhaps, even the twig she twirled around in her fingers at that moment. "I shall name you ... Twiggy." The twig didn't respond and she didn't expect it too. She threw it on the ground. "What's the use?"

She'd think she'd be used to it, being alone, but at home there was always someone around to talk to. Not here, not in the Earth Kingdom where the only people she knew was Kai, who'd be gone by now, and that strange boy she'd met early. But she'd be damned if she ever had to travel around with him for the rest of her life. She had one almost completely normal friend and she'd lost her, not to mention they had left off on the wrong foot.

Anala sighed and sat on the ground, bringing her knees to her chest and looked to the sky. "Why me?" she asked no one, it was mainly directed at the Spirits though, if there were any. "Am I being punished for what my family did to everyone else?" No answer, just the whistling of the wind within the leaves. "What the hell am I doing, I'm wasting time that's what." She stood again and walked, she didn't know where the hell she was going.

"Wait!" she heard from behind her. _Great, now I'm going crazy, _she thought, shaking her head to get rid of the sound. "WAIT!" it was louder this time. She dared to look back and was surprised to see Kai running through the trees towards her, her green dress and her short hair flying all over the place.

"What are you doing? They're going to be le-"

"I know. But I just couldn't go," Kai panted. Anala was very confused.

"Why not?" asked Anala, raising one eyebrow.

"Because you're my friend, and I need you just as much as you need me," said Kai, taking a hold of Anala's shoulder. Her eyes turned fierce. "If you tell anyone what I just said, I'll deny it." Anala laughed at that. "Look, I am really sorry though, for all the things I've said and done."

"Me too, I wasn't exactly the nicest person sometimes," Anala admitted.

"Sometimes?" Kai asked in disbelief but broke into a grin. "I want to start new, we can go to Ba Sing Se and we can go together. Friends to the end, right?" Kai stuck out her hand, waiting for Anala to shake it.

Anala smiled and almost cried, her only friends had been her family and Ty Lee didn't exactly count, it felt nice to finally have her own friend. She grasped Kai's hand. "Friends to the end."


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! So this is three years later, Kai being 12 (as you can tell when you read it) and Anala being 13 (and in case some of you get confused Kai = Ari and Anala = Mayu). Just to let you know, the gaang will appear in the story but not until later. Much later. It definitely won't be in this book and probably not in the next. So anyway, enjoy chapter 9 :)  
><strong> I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D<strong>  
><strong>

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"It's your twelfth birthday K- I mean Ari! We have to celebrate!" Anala cried as she grabbed Kai in a headlock. Since they'd decided to travel together, they'd changed their names. They usually only used their real names when they were sure that they were alone. But they were certain that people had forgotten the dead Princess Anala and the missing prisoner Kai of the Water Tribe. Although they suspected this to be true, they decided they didn't want to risk being discovered.

"I don't want to celebrate my birthday _Mayu,_" Kai snarled, poking her in the chest as she said her "name". Anala snorted and pushed her away from her. They both chuckled and made their way through the crowd of people. They were in a small but busy town where many ships were trading items. They'd been staying in that particular town for a few days, going out during the night and taking anything they could get their hands on. "I'm glad we haven't been found out yet," Anala whispered to Kai as they passed a few Earth Kingdom soldiers.

"Well they won't if you keep your gob shut," Kai whispered back, eyeing the soldiers cautiously. Three years alone in the Earth kingdom had turned Anala from a pampered princess into a street rat with a bad attitude; it hadn't helped since her rebellious teen side decided to reveal itself since she turned thirteen. The sweet, kind princess was gone. She laughed and glared at the soldiers who either didn't notice or decided to ignore.

They pushed their ways through the large, loud crowd and towards the ships where they'd have a browse around for anything they liked. A particular ship caught Kai's interest. "Ooh, look at that Mayu!" she slapped Anala's arm and pointed to the ship with the black flag with a white skull on it. "A pirate ship, I'd bet you my last gold coin that they would have some pretty neat stuff on there."

"Yeah, good luck Ari. They're pirates for spirit sake!" Anala scoffed, quickening her pace past the ship. She was confident when stealing from people of the Earth Nation and soldiers but pirates were a whole different story. Kai grabbed her before she could walk away.

"Then it'll be a great challenge. Come on Mayu, for me? It is my twelfth birthday." Anala avoided her eyes which were wide and teary. Anala eventually looked from the corner of her eyes and was met with the wide ocean blue eyes. She groaned and nodded. "Excellent, just follow my lead!"

The two approached the ship and went inside where two pirates were at the "counter" – if you could call it that – having a nice chat. The two browsed around, poking at different statues that stared at them with cold, lifeless eyes. Anala moved on to the jewellery, which all sat laid out, sparkling in the light. She was a sucker for the shiny objects. She spotted a particular necklace which was blue in colour with a silver chain; it was simple, round and was the same exact colour of Kai's eyes. "I see this has sparked your interest," a sly voice spoke not far away from her. She looked up to see one of the pirates, the one with a large hat, smirking at her as she eyed the blue necklace. "This particular necklace costs, for you, only four gold pieces."

She pondered it for a moment. She had plenty of gold coins to spare, since she'd _found_ some that very morning. She didn't want to stir up any trouble with pirates by stealing something from them, especially such a fine necklace as the one she was looking at. "Yeah, alright," she said after a while, handing the four gold coins over to the pirate who smirked wider. She was slightly cautious and grabbed the necklace before he changed his mind and decided to charge her more for it. "I think we better get out of here," she whispered to Kai, noticing other pirates appear from nowhere, each leering at the girls.

"Ok," Kai said, turning and exiting the shop. Anala raised an eyebrow. _She's up to something_, she thought, watching her friend walk down the plank and disappearing into the crowd again. She jogged down and ran after her. She had a smug smile on her face as she walked. "What are you smiling about?"

"Oh, just the fact that I managed to snatch _this_," she pulled a dagger from her sleeve and showed it to Anala, who gasped in shock. The dagger had red rubies encrusted in the handle as well as some gold.

"Kai, you didn't!" she harshly whispered, too enraged to use her fake name. Kai just smirked wider and placed the dagger back into her sleeve. "You'd better hope they didn't see you snatch that." Anala was terrified; pirates weren't people to mess with, never mind to steal from.

"Don't worry; I waited until the guy was talking to you. Nobody was watching. It's perfectly alright," said Kai calmly.

"Stop thieves!" Anala and Kai spun around to see a group of pirates hot on their heels. They shrieked and sprinted down the nearest backstreet which was thankfully narrow which slowed the pirates down. Since they were small, due to their age as well as the fact they didn't have much food to eat, it meant they could easily manoeuvre their bodies down the tight street.

Kai took the lead and left it up to Anala to create obstacles to slow their followers down. Women shrieked and pulled children out of the way while the men swore at them angrily as the sprinted down the street with both pirates and a few guards chasing as well. "Get back here thieves!" Kai just laughed, Anala's eyes widened before she remember Kai was always the one to laugh at the trouble she caused which could potentially lead to their deaths. Anala had learned to deal with it and realised, now, that there was no point arguing and to just laugh along. So she did just that.

They took a sharp right turn down another narrow street; their chasers decided that instead of following them, they would cut them off. "Go through this door, otherwise the will catch us!" Anala instructed as Kai pushed an old wooden door open, which lead into the building.

They burst into a building where men were laughing and drinking. All movement stopped when the two girls burst through the back door. Everyone was silent and just stared, not quite sure what to make of the situation. Anala just laughed awkwardly and made her way towards the front door while Kai followed close behind. They slammed the door open and ran out just as the pirates and guards where coming through the backdoor. "I think it's time we left this town," Kai suggested.

"I agree," said Anala. She quickly glanced around and fortunately spotted a couple of ostrich-horses that were drinking out of a small bucket, unattended. She made a beeline straight towards them and jumped on, making the animal cry in protest and confusion. Kai bounded up onto the other one and got settled before each grabbed the reins and gave a kick. "Hey!" Anala glanced back to see two men running towards them, both red in the face from anger. Anala took out a bag of gold coins she'd nicked from a wealthy merchant a few weeks ago and tossed it towards the men. "Sorry!" she yelled, not stopping the animal.

The guards and soldiers attempted to chase the two girls on the animals but there was no way they'd catch up to them, they were going too fast. Kai turned in her saddle and poked her tongue out at the pirates before the animals leapt over a log and into the trees, obscuring their view of their followers.

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…

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"I say we keep these guys," said Anala, patting her ostrich-horse which closed its eyes in pleasure. "I'm going to name mine … Lee."

"Oh, _that's_ original," said Kai sarcastically as she waved her papaya in the air. "I hate papaya."

"Why do you eat it then?" Anala asked as she took a bite out of hers, enjoying the flavour.

Kai waved her hands around the forest they were in. "I don't know. I have a lot to choose from, don't I?" She sighed and sat back, studying her papaya as if she'd never seen one before. "I'm going to name my ostrich-horse Mango."

"Mango?" Anala asked, raising her eyebrow. Kai nodded. "Alright. Oh, by the way, I got you this." She held out the blue necklace she'd bought Kai, it had managed to stay in her pocket during their escape. Kai gasped and took the necklace from Anala, inspecting it closer. "Anala, it's beautiful! You didn't have to."

"I wanted to, and besides it suits you I reckon." Anala helped her younger friend put the necklace on and smiled. It really _was_ the same shade of blue as her eyes as her eyes. "Although, I don't think you deserve it after all the trouble you caused." Kai laughed loudly and Anala reached over to ruffle her long brown hair. "Your hair is getting long again; you only just cut it last week."

"Yeah, an inch! And there is no way I'm letting you cut it to my shoulders like you did when I was nine. I looked hideous!" Kai smacked Anala as she laughed. "I like your hair below your shoulders; you don't look so much like a boy then."

"Gee, thanks," Anala said sarcastically, blowing a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. A comfortable silence fell upon them, the only sounds being the singing of birds and the munching of the ostrich-horses. "So … where to next?"

"Wherever we can stop I suppose. We should get food and water and just keep travelling around," said Kai. Once they were finished with their small meal they saddled up and got on Mango and Lee, and made a slow pace inland. They had a map but just felt like going wherever their new companions took them. The old plan to go to Ba Sing Se was currently on hold, they didn't exactly want to get there and be put behind bars as soon as they arrived.

They were silent most of the trip, a few conversations here and there, but that was their relationship. They'd grown fond of each other over the three years they'd had to stick it out with one another and found that they didn't always have to talk to enjoy each other's presence. Just being together alone was enough to overcome loneliness.

"Do you think we'll become wanted criminals?" Kai asked from beside her. She was looking at the sky while she rode, not really caring whether Mango was about to walk straight into tree or not, which he was. Anala got close, leaned over and pulled Mango in the right direction.

"At the rate we're going... probably," chuckled Anala.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello! I don't own Avatar, but I do own Anala, Kai and any other character you don't recognise from the series that is my creation. Decided to finally start writing again and stop playing Sims. Back to school soon which could possibly mean the chapter come out less than usual. And sorry for taking so long, lots of stuff has been happening.**

**I decided to give the girls a quest (if you can call it that) because I seriously don't want to write about them walking around the whole Earth Kingdom without anything to do now that Ba Sing Se is out of the question for them. It's my idea so it probably won't be any good but I like it better than just writing about them waking around endlessly with absolutely nothing to do. So, here's chapter ten :) **

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The town they stopped at next was almost deserted. Although, you couldn't really call it a town, just one building that looked like it was a tavern. Anala was almost tempted to turn around until she heard a roar of voices coming from the building in front of them. "Of course," Anala muttered to herself.

"Should we go?" asked Kai, looking around, unsure.

"No, we'll find somewhere to stay. Maybe that tavern has a room available." Kai's face clearly displayed her doubt that they'd find a room, especially in a place like that, unless they were willing to pay an unspeakable price. "Oh, come on," Anala sighed. "It's better than sleeping out in the woods. Those pirates may have followed us you know."

"And a tavern is _totally _a better place to hide than the woods," Kai said sarcastically. Anala rolled her eyes and pushed Lee onwards towards the tavern. They dismounted their animals and tied them to a nearby post with other ostrich horses along with a few other different creatures, and headed inside.

Anala jumped back in surprise as a glass flew past her face and smashed into the wall on her left. She looked towards the direction it had been thrown from and laughed nervously as she saw a huge man with a large axe over his shoulder. They weaved through the large crowd of loud men and desperate women and looked for the bartender, anyone who worked there. They cringed once they spotted him.

The bartender was as huge a man as the one with the axe was. He had a frown on his place as he cleaned a glass with a filthy cloth and Anala couldn't help but notice that his expression almost made him look as if he was simply disappointed. Whether he was disappointed at himself for doing such a job but the state of humanity, Anala didn't know and she wasn't about to ask and listen to his whole life story.

"Excuse me, sir!" she called to him over the noise. His head snapped towards her, literally. She heard the crack, even over the noise, and winced. She was almost going to turn around as she noticed the large scars that ran from the top of his bald hair, down to his neck and disappearing under his filthy, green shirt. It looked like he had a bad run in with a cat ... or possibly a platypus bear. He then proceeded to slam the glass down on the bench, making the bench, as well as everything that sat on it, shake. He stomped over to the two girls who were growing more terrified by the minute. His shadow loomed over them as he stood right before them. Anala reminded herself that not only were pirates the kind of people to avoid but so were big, scary bartenders.

"Hello!" he suddenly greeted, his disappointed expression suddenly turning into one of pure happiness. Anala and Kai glanced at each other, shrugging, completely confused at the man's behaviour.

"Um ... we'd like to know if you possibly had a free room we could stay in ... please." Anala asked, hiding half her face behind the bottles that were laid out in front of her. "We have plenty of money to pay you."

The man seemed to consider this for a moment. "Well, I suppose we have _one _room. Why aren't you with your parents?" _Shit._ Kai looked at Anala in panic and the man noticed, causing him narrow his eyes. Anala saw this and quickly thought of something.

"Sorry about my, uh, sister, she gets a bit upset at the mention of our parents," Anala said, hugging Kai around the neck and patted her back, tearing up slightly. Kai grinned, getting the message and covered her face with her hands, pretending to cry. "It's ok, Ari, I miss them to. You see, our parents were killed a while ago and we are travelling to our aunt and uncle's place to live with them since our parents aren't around a-anymore!" She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

The man seemed to buy their story and handed them a key immediately, his expression had softened. "Upstairs, second on the left, any problems let me know."

"Thank you for your kindness, here's some money," Anala attempted to hand him over some gold coins but the man refused.

"It's ok, it's only one night. Don't worry about it. Would you like anyone to escort you to your aunt and uncle's place tomorrow?" Anala was getting annoyed. Didn't he realise how much more complicated he was making things for her by asking those questions?

"No, that's fine, thank you. They are a bit hostile to ... strangers. We know the way. Like I said, it's not far from here. We'll be fine." Anala explained, pushing Kai towards the staircase.

"If you're sure ..." _Gosh, he just won't give up will he? _Anala thought.

"Positive," Anala reassured. "We're a bit tired so we're just going to go up and have a little rest." She laughed awkwardly as she neared the stairs, wanting to sprint up them like her life depended on it.

"Ok girls, any problems let me know." The nodded and darted up the stairs, their destination: the second door to the left. Anala stuck the key in the lock, quickly unlocking it. They ran in and quickly shut the door behind them.

"So, _sis_, don't you think the family will be a bit worried about us?" Kai teased. She rubbed her finger along a table and grimaced as she found a load of dust which had caked itself onto the surface. "Thank the spirits we're only here for one night."

"Yes and let's try not to cause any trouble within that short amount of time," Anala said as she bounced onto the large bed, coughing as dust flew into the air.

"Yeah, because you are just a saint, aren't you Nala?" Anala scoffed and threw a pillow at Kai's head but missing by a mile. She jumped of the bed and looked out a window to see man was flung out of the window by a few other men. She rolled her eyes. The men around there were probably nothing but dirty thieves, but then again, she was just like them, along with Kai. "Let's go get something to eat," Anala said, heading to the door.

"We just came up here and besides, do they even serve food here?" asked Kai from her place on the bed.

"For a bag of gold pieces they do. Come on." Down the stairs they went and up to the counter they travelled. The man was still there and he recognised them instantly. He chuckled loudly, "You know girls, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Seijirou."

"I'm Mayu and this is Ari," Anala introduced, glad to have not messed up their names. "We were wondering if we could get something to eat."

The man laughed loudly. "Of course girls, go sit at that table and I'll have the old chain and ball bring you out something to eat." The two ventured to the table in the corner which was dark and seemed to be a spot where barely anyone paid any attention too.

"Chain and ball?" Kai asked after they'd settled in the chairs.

"He means his wife; at least I think he does. I used to hear the Generals speaking about their wives; they'd often refer to them as "the old chain and ball". It's not a compliment, put it that way." Anala explained.

While they waited, Anala scanned around to check out the different people that were scattered around the tavern. The men were mainly big, huge in fact, although there were a few scrawny men here and there but they appeared to be the more sly ones, the cunning and dangerous ones who'd probably be able to sneak behind a person at night and slit their throat before they knew anything about it.

She also noticed, to her disgust, the women in the tavern. They were _anything_ beyond dangerous. She was certain if they were tough like the man, they wouldn't let themselves be taken advantage of. But these women were practically _begging_ for it. It made Anala sick to the stomach as she watched the women flaunt their breasts and whisper into a man's ear before disappearing upstairs, giggling like a love sick child.

"There you go, you two eat up now. I want nothing left on those plates when I come out to get them," a woman said. "I'm Eri by the way, Seijirou's _ball and chain_ apparently." The girls laughed nervously, wishing the woman would just go away. "Oh well, enjoy." She walked away towards her partner who had a huge red mark on his face.

The two ate their meal in silence, it tasted very good. It was the first cooked meal they'd had in a very, very long time, so they savoured their meal and took slow, small bites. Listening into conversations was both interesting and disturbing to Anala. Some were stories of great adventures of mystery and conspiracy while others were of great adventures they'd had in bed with one of the women there the other night. One particular conversation caught both of the girl's attention.

Not far from where they sat was a smaller man. He had the appearance of a fox and a rat combined. He wasn't a glorious sight, not in the least. His voice was sly, silky and soft. The table at which he sat was occupied by a lot of different men, all about six times his size but he didn't look worried at all. Instead, he had a smug smirk on his face as the men gaped at him as he told them of a valuable treasure. "So ... it's a jewel?" one of the men questioned, pushing away a woman who'd come over to whisper things to him. She glared at him and stomped away.

"Not just any jewel boys," the man said, pulling out a piece of paper. "It's _the _jewel." His statement was only met with blank stares, not expressions of understanding which he appeared to have hoped for. He sighed. "This jewel was worn on a necklace by the previous earthbending Avatar."

"Avatar Kyoshi?" a man with a large sword questioned, scratching his chin as he thought. "She doesn't sound like the jewellery type."

"Not Avatar Kyoshi you buffoon," the fox-rat faced man groaned. "The previous earthbending Avatar _before_ Avatar Kyoshi, and her name isn't important." The men all understood then and started to chat about it. "Ahem." The noise quietened. "This particular jewel is a Jade Jewel and it is an extremely rare and exotic jewel." The picture displayed a small green stone, and was in the shape of a diamond with rough edges. Anala had to admit it was a pretty jewel; Kai seemed to be thinking the same exact thing as she nibbled on some rice, staring the picture longingly.

"Why are you telling us this?"

"Because, gentlemen, there is a huge reward for the person who is able to find this jewel. How does five hundred gold pieces sound to you boys?" Jaws dropped, including Kai's. The men looked eager. "There's just one problem though. This hasn't been seen in over eight hundred years. It was last sighted on Whale Tail Island, worn by the Avatar's son who died a very unfortunate death. It could be anywhere by now. I am willing to offer five hundred gold pieces, possibly more, to the person who is able to bring me the jewel." It sounded suspicious to Anala. Why was the man so eager to get his hands on the jewel? Sure it was extremely rare, but five hundred gold pieces seemed a little steep. Something was up, and Anala didn't like it.

The men quickly scrambled from their seats and out the door, some even flung themselves out of the windows. Before she knew it, she was being punched in the arm by Kai. "Let's go ask him for more details!"

"WHAT?" Anala screeched. Kai quickly shushed her by covering her mouth. "_Have you lost your mind_?" she said through the hand, making no effort to slap it off. "You're mental. I bet a blind _and_ deaf person would be able to tell that there is something strange going on here."

"Think about it, we'd be rolling in gold. We'd become legends!" Kai beamed, her eyes lighting with delight as she took her hand away from Anala's mouth.

"Oh no, count me out! I'm not getting messed up in your little fantasy world and don't you dare look at me like that Kai! I said no and that's final. You can go and do what you have to do but count me out." Anala rose from the table and headed to the stairs but Kai's whisper stopped her.

"I thought we were friends to the end?"

Anala froze in her tracks and sighed, slumping slightly and running her hand through her hair in defeat. "Fine!" she sighed, Kai squealed and lunged herself at Anala's back. "But as soon as I get proof something fishy is going on, I'm out, understand?" Kai nodded her head furiously and dragged Anala to the table where fox-rat faced man sat. She wasted no time sitting in the nearest chair and scraping it to the table to get closer. Anala, on the other-hand, eyed the man before sitting. She was only young but she wasn't stupid. The man looked confused at first but smirked at them. "Hello ladies, how can I help you two, young lovely girls today?" Anala was tempted to tell him to cut the crap but Kai quickly slapped her leg and turned her attention to the man.

"We're interested in finding the Jade Jewel," Kai said eagerly.

The man looked at the two of them dumbfounded for a moment before he started cackling. "You two? Find the Jade Jewel? What are you going to do? Braid people's hair for information." The girls exchange a look before turning back to him.

"Well, actually-"

"We were thinking more along the lines of holding someone at knife point," Anala said, wiping her face of all emotion making it appear as if she was simply bored. His laughter stop and he started intently at her. "Think about it." She rested her hands on the table, making motions with them as she spoke to emphasize her point. "Those buffoons aren't going to be able to travel more than two towns without needing some booze or enough food to feed the entire population of Ba Sing Sa for about three months. They'd probably kill their victims before getting any information about them and there will be the constant problem of ... err, _distractions_." She pointedly looked over at one of the men fox-rat man was previously talking to, he was surrounded by three women and he looked quite pleased with himself.

"Look at them, now look at us," Anala said. "We're both young, and experienced with weapons. We're masters of stealth and evasion. We can fit into the tiniest crevices and climb the tallest mountain without breaking a sweat or stopping for lunch. Admit it, we're your best option if you want this _Jade Jewel_ you're so interested in."

Silence fell upon the three; he kept looking back and forth between them while until chuckling. "I like you; you've got this ... _something_. I don't know what it is but I like it. Tell you what, my mind has been changed. I think you two have what it takes to find this thing. If you do find the jewel, I'll throw in an extra hundred for you. So, girls, deal?" He held out his hand to Kai who shook quickly and then to Anala.

She eyed it for a moment before shaking it. "Deal," she said slowly, still judging him.

He had a sly smirk on his face as he hissed, "Excellent." He handed the picture of the jewel to them along with another piece of paper which had been folded over several times. "Pleasure doing business ladies." With that, he disappeared through the crowd of rowdy men, out the pub and into the shadows.

Anala couldn't shake the feeling that she'd just made a terrible mistake.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello! So I've changed my mind ... again. I'm trying to do a chapter every day so I can finish book 1. But like I said, I'm trying :) Anyway, not much else to say except there is a new character which I own but I don't own Avatar. Enjoy chapter eleven :D I'm surprised I got this far to be honest :) And I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few mistakes in this, I was editing it in the morning. Something you'll (hopefully) find interesting will happen in the next chapter and I might start to wrap things up with this book. I'm not sure. Anyway, enjoy the chapter :)  
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"WAKE UP!" the blankets were ripped off of Anala which sent her flying to the ground since she'd managed to wrap herself up in the middle of the night. She'd missed the comfort of having a blanket wrapped firmly around her and was glad to not have to rely on body heat for once in three years. It was almost the crack of dawn, but not quite. Anala could feel it. She yawned and stretched before she stood, still trying to wake up. Kai became inpatient, gripped her arm and practically dragged her downstairs where they saw Eri cleaning glasses and chuckling at a few men that were slumped in their seats, snoring loudly. "Good morning girls," she greeted, smiling brightly. "Would you like breakfast?"

"Yes please," Kai said, jumping from one foot to the other.

"You're excited today, aren't you?" Eri said as she filled to glasses with water and handed it to the girls.

"We get to see our aunt and uncle today!" Kai lied easily making the woman smile sadly.

"That's great, sad though, considering what you've been through," the girls were silent and hung their heads, pretending to be upset. Eri slid two plates with a simple sandwich onto the counter in front of them. "Enjoy," she said before going back to cleaning glasses.

Anala's eyes widened in shock as she watched Kai eat half the sandwich in one bite while she took small bites and savoured the taste. Kai was finished the sandwich even though Anala was not even half finished on own. "Come on, hurry up," she stated, physically pushing the sandwich into Anala's mouth. She struggled to chew it and swallow it. "Well," she spoke to Eri, "we're going to go know. Thanks and goodbye."

"Wait! Let me get Seijirou," she rushed through a door and returned with the large, gentle man who smiled at the girl as he shook their hands. "Good luck girls. Don't get into too much trouble."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Anala said bowing as Kai muttered a "thanks", bowing also. Eri pushed a couple of small bags into Kai's hand and two larger ones into Anala's. Guilt washed over Anala like a wave, making her look away in shame at having to lie to these people.

"I noticed you had nothing when you came in. There are a couple of week's worth of food that you and your family could eat and a couple of sleeping bags in case you need them," stated Eri as she hugged the girls. "Goodbye and good luck."

"You don't have to do this," Anala said as she tried to hand back the things but Eri refused. "Well at least let me give you some money."

"That won't be necessary. We just want you to be safe," Seijirou said. These people hardly knew them yet they were so kind. Anala wondered whether they would have genuinely cared if they weren't "orphans".

"Goodbye." The two exited the building and the couple went back to running their business. When they turned, Anala silently rushed back and dropped a bag of gold pieces into the "tips" container and then rushed back out before the couple could notice.

Kai was already on Mango and was making him run circles around Lee who didn't pay either of them any attention, he just continued to eat without a care in the world. Anala whispered softly to him before she mounted him and joined Kai. "So do you know where we are going?" she asked, forgetting all about the guilt she'd had for lying to the kind couple and was sort of excited for their journey.

"Don't worry, I know _exactly_ where we are going," Kai said arrogantly as she made Mango go into a run and off towards the direction they had come from. Anala quickly followed, keeping in mind that Kai's sense of direction had never, ever been a reliable source.

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"I can tell you know _exactly_ where you are going," Anala teased from behind Mango and Kai, whose head was snapping in every direction as if she knew what she was looking for and what would help her find her path to Whale Tail Island. "So, are we just sightseeing or taking a detour? Do you even know where Whale Tail Island actually is?"

"Anala, I know we're friends and everything, but if you don't shut your mouth this minute I am about to punch you so hard in the face, it'll break your brain," Kai snapped angrily, her shoulders tensing. Anala laughed loudly, leaning so far back she nearly fell off Lee.

"I thought we had a map," Anala said, coming to Kai's side.

"I don't need a map!" Kai yelled in Anala's face but she didn't back away or even flinch as Kai's enraged face came inches to hers. She just raised an eyebrow and watched with a grin as Kai sighed and pouted. "Where's the map?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. Anala raised her eyebrow even higher and grinned. Kai pouted more and whipped the map out from her pocket.

They came to a halt and studied the map carefully. "You're holding it upside down," Anala stated. True, they'd spent three years in the Earth Kingdom so one would assume they'd be able to read a map, know where they are and what direction to go to get to their destination. But sadly, this wasn't the case. The two used to spend hours bickering so the eventually tucked the map away in a pocket that Kai had discovered in her dress and forgot about it until that point.

"I am _not _holding upside down! You just can't read a map!" Kai snapped.

"Oh I can read a map well enough to know it's upside down," Anala said confidently without looking away from the map as she turned her head to the left and right. "Yep, defiantly upside down." Kai huffed and spun it around the other way. "Maybe it was the right way." Kai grumbled and turned it around again. "So we're here," Anala waved her finger around the map before poking it. According to her, they were very close to Ba Sing Se, and nowhere near the ocean."These things travel fast."

"You guessed that, and besides, we were _there _yesterday," Kai circled her finger around the ocean. "...Somewhere."

"You're crazy."

"_You_ are."

"Ladies, ladies please." Lee and Mango got a fright at the foreign voice and shot forward. Kai and Anala, who hadn't expected it, went flying off the end. A shadow cast itself over them in the shape of a human. Anala blocked the sun and looked up to see a boy ... no older than them in age. "Have no fear, your saviour is here."

Anala scoffed and stood, wiping the dirt from her behind and glared at the boy. "Thanks, but no thanks. We're fine, come on Kai." Kai stood and followed her, sticking her tongue out at the boy who only raised his eyebrows. She hoped Mango and Lee weren't too hard to find, they had some of their food and not to mention they were their only means of transport. Anala heard the sound of feet shuffling on the ground behind them; she spun and glared at the boy who smiled innocently. "Are you deaf?" Anala snapped.

"No, my name is Fritz," he said moving closer to her which made her instantly back away.

"You know what I-" something clicked in her head. She though back to when she was ten and studied the boy in front of her who grinned. She knew him; she'd had this silly little argument before.

"_Hello."_

_She almost jumped out of her skin as she heard the simple word. She rolled and sprung up into a standing position, holding out her arms in defence. She had a sudden thought that she'd never be safe again, that she'd always be on her toes and ready to fight if the time presented itself. It was all thanks to Commander Baku. She dropped her arms slightly in disbelief as she stared blankly at the small boy in from of her. He waved slightly at her, grinning widely. Her eye twitched. "Are you ok?" he asked, taking a step towards her. _

"_Stay back," she threatened keeping her eyes narrowed. He looked slightly taken aback but still advanced towards her. "Are you deaf?" she shrieked as she stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from him. _

"_No, my name is Fritz," the boy laughed, stepping closer until Anala was backed up against a tree. _

"I remember you," she said, clearly displaying her displeasure of having to meet him again. He smirked in victory. "And the answer is still no. Go away."

"But I can help you! I know the Earth Kingdom like the back of my hand! I know the way to Whale Tail Island!" he cried. She huffed and turned but was surprised when it was Kai who stopped her in her tracks. She pulled her to the side and smiled at the boy. "Excuse me, we just have to discuss some ... things." She pulled Anala's face roughly to hers and glared. "What do you think you're doing?"

"What? That kid is an arse, I don't like him," she whispered harshly, still glaring.

"He knows the way to Whale Tail Island, not to mention the rest of the Earth Kingdom Anala!" she replied, whispering also and continued to check behind her to make sure he was still there and wasn't listening to their conversation.

"What if he's bluffing?"

"I doubt it, he looks like he's from the Earth Kingdom, and I defiantly think he's telling the truth." They turned back to see him bending flowers made from the dirt below him. "Yep, defiantly from the Earth Kingdom." The two were in silence for a moment. "We don't have to tell him about the Jade Jewel or the reward but if it comes to that, we'll just tell him we're finding it for a friend who is going to give us a small reward."

"Oh yeah, great plan. What if he finds out we're actually finding it for a _stranger_ who is giving us a very large and suspicious reward?" Anala asked harshly, glaring at Kai who spaced out for a moment.

"By then it'll hopefully be too late for him to do anything about it. I can't believe I'm saying this but, can we keep him? Please?" Kai made her eyes wide which she knew nobody could resist. Anala sighed and glanced back at the boy, _Fritz_, she reminded herself. He was sitting there with a grin staring right back at her.

"Fine, you can come with us," she said to him. Fritz jumped with joy; making the earth tremble slightly while Kai did her own little victory dance. "Show us the way to Whale Tail Island, but first, help us find our companions." Fritz ran off faster than they knew he was capable and returned moments later with Mango and Lee who were munching on grass.

"They weren't far," Fritz stated, giving each a pat. Kai jumped on Mango quickly, map in hand.

"Yeah, thanks," Anala muttered as she climbed onto Lee and looked down at Fritz who was looking at her expectantly. "What?" she snapped.

"You don't expect me to walk the whole way do you? I'd ride with _her,_" he pointed to Kai since he didn't know her name, "but she's got all the bags." Anala's eyes snapped to Kai who was grinning and holding the bags in front of her, displaying them to Anala as if she was a merchant selling them. Anala growled in irritation before motioning for Fritz to hop on. He did so happily and gripped Anala tightly from behind. It took all her will power to not turn around and burn him to a crisp.

"I'm Kai by the way, that's Anala," Kai said, Anala's eyes widened at Kai who shrugged.

"Those are weird names," Fritz stated, "but I like them." Anala sighed with relief as the boy didn't have any recognition written on his face. Their identities were safe and they rode off into the direction Fritz pointed out happily. Well, everyone except Anala that is.


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello! So the name Fritz is a name I saw while scrolling on an insanely long website with thousands of names. It was one of the few that actually stuck and I don't think I'd be able to find another name that best suits the character, it just seemed to stick. It sounds weird but I like it. I'll probably start to work towards finishing this book and start on Book 2 but I've had so much work to do I hardly get time to write a single paragraph. So here is chapter twelve ;).**

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The singing had stopped which Anala was grateful for. She'd had enough of Fritz's terrible singing which was actually a gift from the spirits, according to Fritz. Not even an hour into the journey had he boasted about his lovely vocals and how his amazing ability can attract people from far and wide. Anala had snapped later that it was probably because they thought he was an injured and dying animal. It was harsh but at least it had stopped his screeching if only for a while. What was worse was that Kai had actually encouraged him to sing, but had the regret written on her face once he'd actually opened his mouth to demonstrate his "gift".

The sun was slowly setting, marking the end of another day. Mango and Lee were just about ready to collapse from the journey of travelling all day, especially the ways that Kai and Fritz suggested they go. The two often quarrelled and Anala was glad to not be the one fighting with Kai for a change. "I'm so tired!" Kai said as she jumped off Mango and tied him to a nearby tree.

"You can say that again, I'm going to be saddle sore for a week!" Anala whined. Fritz got off before her and then she followed, reuniting Mango and Lee together who turned their backs to them, clearly upset with them. Anala stuck her hand in the bag and held out two carrots for them which they ate happily. Any anger they seemed to have had quickly vanished. "Kai, you go gather some wood for a fire and take Fritz with you. I'll get the food ready." Kai nodded and motioned for the boy to follow. Anala silently got out a small bag of old rice that Eri had given them and tipped it into the bowl. It was a luxury to have some food for once, instead of having to go out hunting in the dark for fruit or animals.

Kai and Fritz piled the sticks into a small pit they'd made and Anala set fire to a small twig. The flame soon engulfed all the wood and they each sat in front of it with their food. "How long until we get to Whale Tail Island?" Kai asked Fritz who just shrugged.

"Could be tomorrow if we travel fast enough, but I'd say two or three days. We're making surprisingly good time." The girls were glad he didn't ask any questions and just wondered in his mind. They could only keep up their act for so long; it would get suspicious if they hesitated to answer each of his questions he might have asked.

Kai handed the bowl to Anala and stretched, having a sip of the water Eri had packed for them. She grabbed Fritz's finished bowl once he was done and handed it to Anala. "I'm going to hit the hay."

"Don't hit it too hard, you might hurt its feelings," Anala joked, smirking at Kai as she stuck her tongue out, a gesture which she happily returned. Kai pulled out her sleeping back and set it near Anala, waiting until Anala herself was asleep before she move to snuggle up to Anala for warmth. Every night Kai would sleep a little away from Anala, not far but not uncomfortably close. But as soon as Anala would be asleep she knew Kai would wake up or sensed she was asleep and would move closer to hug her or be pressed against Anala's back. It had been annoying at first as well as awkward but she soon got over and felt comforted by her younger friend. They kept each other safe.

Anala came to the sudden realisation that there were only two sleeping bags and three people. She stood from her spot, chucked the bowls back into one of the bags and grabbed her sleeping bag. She threw it to Fritz who managed to catch it before it fell into the flames. "What about you?" he asked.

"I'll manage, I'm used to it," she muttered as she settled down next to Kai who was snoring lightly. She used her arm as a pillow and closed her eyes, noticing the fire was slowly dying but made no move to start it up again. She heard Fritz get into the sleeping bag and fall asleep somewhere near her.

After a several minutes of silence she heard the sleeping bag rustle again and the sound of someone shuffling. She felt someone pressed against her, not only on her right where Kai was sleeping, but someone on her left as well. After waiting for the things at her side to settle, she dared to open her eyes. She looked to her right first to see Kai snuggling up it her sleeping bag and close to her side; she looked to her left to see that Fritz was also at her side. They both looked as if they were trying to share the warmth of the blanket and though she didn't really need it, she was thankful they were kind enough to think of her. She smiled and looked to the stars which were twinkling above her and thanked the Spirits for the friends they'd allowed her to have.

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Fritz puffed out his chest. "I told you I'd get you there," he said, pointing to the island that looked like a tiny speck on the horizon. "Yeah, it only took you two weeks," Anala heard Kai mutter.

Anala's eyes went wide and she jumped off Mango and ran to the shore, rubbed her eyes and looked to the island that was still just a small speck. "You're kidding right? You've _got _to be _kidding_!" she yelled.

"Anala, be quite!" Kai whispered harshly as she crawled into the bushes. Anala gave her a strange look and listened, trying to her what was so interesting. There was the quite murmuring of voices somewhere near and Anala followed Kai to investigate. What they saw made their hopes and dreams shrivel up and disappear.

There sat the pirates they'd stole from, all around a fire, laughing and eating with joy. One of the pirates was obviously wearing a rather new and expensive looking accessory. It was small and green in colour, giving off the faintest glow and was in the shape of a diamond.

The Jade Jewel swung around the man's neck as he moved around the camp, bragging to his companions about his newest treasure which he displayed proudly several times by stopping his movements and puffing out his chest so the jewel shone for all to see.

"Well, that's the end of that," Anala said, torn between wanting to finish their quest and wanting to leave before the real trouble began.

"Not yet, wait until they sleep," Kai said, pulling Anala back quickly and watching closely. Anala went to protest by Kai held her hand up. "Trust me."

"I was actually going to say, let me go back and see where Fritz is." Kai waved her off and stayed in the bushes, watching carefully. Anala backed up as slowly and quietly as she possibly could and returned to the spot where they'd stopped. She spotted their feathered companions but no earthbending boy.

"So that is why you really wanted to go to Whale Tail Island?" She spun to see Fritz leaning against a tree, frowning at her, "to get your hands on a stupid necklace?"

"It isn't like that," Anala protested, thinking quickly. "We're returning it to a friend, and-"

"The truth Anala," Fritz whispered, not moving from his spot. "I want the truth." Anala stared at him, how could he possibly be able to tell she was lying to him. He must have overheard them as they spoke the first day they met him, otherwise he was bluffing and he didn't really know she was lying. Though she highly doubted that theory. After assessing the situation more, she sighed in defeat and hung her head.

"We met some guy in a tavern who was offering five hundred gold pieces to whoever got the Jade Jewel and brought it to him. He offered us an extra hundred if it was us who brought it to him. It was Kai's idea though!" Anala accused.

"You do realise you could get into a lot of trouble? Why do you stay by her side?"Fritz asked, hasher than he must have intended or perhaps not.

"She's my best friend." Anala said softly, hugging herself tightly as she stared sadly at the ground. Memories of a night she tried to forget flashed in her mind. Her running, Kai's hand tightly held in her own, the cries, pleads and most importantly, Kai's return to save her. Kai had done it for her so she would be by Kai's side, no matter what. "Where are you going?" she asked as she noticed Fritz beginning to walk off.

"Well it looks like you don't need me anymore. I helped you find your way now I'm probably unwanted," he said sadly.

"Please stay, I think we could really use an earthbender around," Anala chuckled sadly, not wanting him to leave. He turned back to look at her and they held eye contact for a long time. She pleaded with her eyes for him to stay with them, to prove he was wanted. After a while, he caved.

"So what, we're like a team now?" he chuckled as he walked back to her.

"I suppose so," Anala laughed.

There was silence as they waited beside their companions. Anala had returned to Kai to see if she needed help, but apparently, Kai was doing just fine and she had a plan figured out. If she had to modify it to fit another person it might all fail. So Anala left her to her thoughts and went back to wait with Fritz.

She was half asleep, buried into Lee's feather when she heard the cries of outrage and the high-pitched scream of a girl followed by insane laughter. Kai burst through the bushes and made her way to them with angry pirates running right behind her. She waved the necklace in the air proudly as it glowed eerily.

Anala pushed Fritz so he woke; she mounted Lee while Fritz stumbled to get onto Mango. They pushed the animals towards the mischievous girl and Anala held out her hand, hoping to the Spirits that she wouldn't miss catching the girl. Kai grasped her hand and allowed herself to be pulled onto Lee. "You'll be sorry!" The pirate who wore the necklace yelled, waving his fist in the air. The three of them knew the man would fulfil his promise but at that moment, with the Jewel firmly in their clutches, they couldn't have cared less.


	13. Chapter 13

**This is probably the third last chapter and then on to Book 2. I tried thinking of other ways and obstacles for them to encounter before ending the story. I tried many times to start a new chapter but felt like it was time to write this chapter and finish the book. I just can't think of anymore to add to this story but don't worry, more things will happen in the next book and in which Fox-Rat Man will be their main enemy. Richasa: Uncle Iroh will eventually see his daughter again, just much, much later. I honestly can't wait to write about the reunion. So enjoy chapter thirteen and sorry to those who feel like I rushed through this book but I felt like it only needed to be so long. I didn't want to drag it out too long :)**

******I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D******

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Anala ducked as a knife was thrown towards her head. Mango and Lee had become exhausted from their journey, allowing the pirates plenty of time to catch up to them and begin a fight.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Fritz bend ferociously, sending boulders left, right and centre with as much power and force as his body could muster. He wasn't a master but he was certainly good. Kai had tried to use her own bending to defend them but ended up freezes one of Anala's legs in the process. Anala was too terrified to use her bending so freely in enemy territory. She knew people of the Earth Kingdom would not take kindly to a firebender in their country.

Kai had insisted upon wearing the necklace that day, Anala had protested but Kai had firmly told her that they had the Jewel and nothing would go wrong. They'd give it to Fox-Rat Man, receive their reward and glory, and be off on their merry way to search for other adventures.

But now, upon seeing the pirates surround a very helpless Kai who only had the dagger she'd stolen from the very people she was fighting at that moment, she wished that she'd taken the necklace and worn it herself. She took out a pirate using her boomerang and watched it as it flew away, knowing deep down that this time, it wouldn't be coming back. She turned back towards the pirates, doing her best to fight them off but failing. She'd never actually had much experience in hand to hand combat.

"We have to get out of here!" She called to the others. Fritz built a barrier between them and the pirates that would give them some time to run away. The turned and sprinted; keeping close to one another in an effort to get away. The pirates ran around Fritz's barrier and followed closely behind and waved their swords threateningly in the air as they ran.

"We'll never make it!" Kai cried, tears running down her face. "They'll kill us before we even get to the forest near that cliff." Anala examined the cliff and noticed the soft mist that flowed into the air. She could smell the fresh water.

"We have to jump," Anala shouted, determined in her actions as she pushed her legs to go faster.

"Are you mad?" Kai shouted in disbelief, slowing her pace in shock.

"I trusted you, now I'm asking you to trust me!" Anala bellowed, grabbing a hold of Kai's hand and Fritz's as they came closer to the cliff edge. She didn't slow as they came to the edge. "Close your eyes and jump!" she yelled. She closed her eyes before she could see if the other two had followed her orders. Kai screamed ear-piercingly while Fritz yelped in panic as they jumped over the edge. Anala prayed she was right about the water.

They fell, Kai screaming all the way. Down they went, turning in all different angles as they dropped like stones until they made an almighty splash into the fast running water below. Their hold on one another was torn apart by the current and Anala opened her eyes in panic. She swum to the surface and looked around for her friends. "KAI!" She screamed over the rushing water. "FRITZ!" The water dragged her under before she could hear a response.

She held her breath and struggled to keep her eyes open. She continued to flow until someone grabbed her and pulled her from the water before she drowned. She coughed up water as she was dragged onto a rock in the middle of the river. She opened her eyes to see Fritz looking at her in worry. "Are you ok?"

"Now I am," she said hoarsely before entering panic mode again. "Where's Kai?"

"I thought she might be with you," Fritz responded, looking frantically around in the water. "KAI!"

"HELP ME!" they heard. The watched horrified as Kai was being dragged towards a waterfall which looked as though it fell a long way. "HELP! THE CURRENT IS TOO STRONG!"

"HANG ON KAI!" Anala and Fritz cried at the same time. Fritz quickly bended them over to shore where they took off without recovering and sprinted after Kai who flailed helplessly in the water. "What are we going to do?" Anala asked, ripping at her hair.

"Wait here," he said calmly before he sprinted towards the edge of the waterfall and started bending. Anala, ignoring his orders, ran after him and stayed by his side as she watched him bend out a huge rock that acted like a barrier. But instead of having the desired effect of stopping the flow of the water, it seemed to increase as the water spilled over the top. "Well shit."

Any other time she would have laughed but at the moment didn't call for laughter. Without hesitating she jumped onto the rock and held on as she crawled her way across, trying with difficulty to stay on the rock. She reached her hand out to Kai who was so close. Kai grabbed her hand and held on tightly but still hurtled over the rock, taking Anala with her. Fritz called out to her and grabbed hold of her foot but it was no use.

The three screamed as they were hurtled over the waterfall, the rock crumbling after them from the pressure. They screamed until they hit the bottom and then there was silence.

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Anala dragged herself onto the riverbank, unharmed which she was greatly thankful for. She was sore here and there but there was nothing broken or torn off. She coughed up water onto the dirt and looked around for any signs of pirates but by looking at the sun, she could see that a lot of time had passed and the pirates probably moved on, thinking them dead.

She stood, shivering as the wind caught her. Tears fell from her eyes as she saw no sign of her friends anywhere. The water was calm there but she saw no movement, it was clear but she saw no bodies. But a faint glow of a necklace caught her eyes. She bent down and picked up the Jade Jewel. She thought of Kai instantly and about the fact that she'd worn it that day. She was too afraid t call out in case there were unwanted guests about and instead, limped along the bank tiredly.

It took her almost an hour but she eventually spotted two figures lying in a heap on the riverbank, arms flailing around uselessly. "Kai? Fritz?" two weak groans came from the figures and she ran up to them, diving to the ground and hugged the two of them, crying happily to have her friends back.

"We thought you were gone," Kai cried as she hung onto Anala lightly, her voice slurred from tiredness.

"Me too."

The three stayed like that until Fritz suggested it might be a good idea to venture away from the water's edge in case their _friends_ came to see if they were alive and well. They helped each other up and held each other's hands as they walked through the trees, resting in a small cave deep into the forest. They didn't bother starting a fire and instead, just sat, panting and still coughing water up. "Well ... say goodbye to the Jade Jewel," Kai said sadly.

"Yeah, good riddance in my opinion," Fritz grumbled rubbing his neck, his face scrunched up in pain.

"I wouldn't give up on it just yet Kai," Anala said, ignoring Fritz's comment. She pulled out the Jewel from her pocket and waved it around proudly in the air. The material that kept it together was a little broken in places but it could easily be replaced. The Jewel was the main thing, and it looked perfectly intact still glowing faintly. "I found it on the shore. You should be careful where you leave your things." Anala went to hand the Jewel to Kai who shook her head.

"Give it to me later, right now I want to sleep, not look after that thing," she said. She lay down on the ground, not minding about the dirt that clung to her wet figure and instantly snoozed. Anala chuckled and tucked the Jewel away into her pocket before turning her attention to Fritz who was staring at the wall with a far off look in his eyes.

"Where are you?" she called, making him shake his head of his thoughts and turn his attention to her.

"In a ... cave?" he replied slowly, unsure if he had the right answer.

"I mean just then, you seemed to be off with the Spirits," Anala chuckled, snuggling into the earth behind her.

"I was just thinking, even though I'm hurting everywhere, I'm glad I pushed the subject of me joining you that day. I don't think I would have ever had this much fun, as painful as it is." He and Anala laughed before he paused and fell silent. "And I don't think I would have such amazing friends either." He said the last part softly but Anala still heard. She reached out and held his hand, smiling at him. He returned the smile, his green eyes lighting up. She took her hand away and turned over, drifting into sleep while she was unaware he still watched with a small smile on his face.


	14. Chapter 14

**Oooh, the last chapter. I decided to join chapters 14 and 15 together because alone I felt like they were too short. I will try to start uploading chapters of the next book soon but I can't promise anything. I have exams in a few weeks which means I actually have to study for once instead of spending valuable time writing the story. Oh well, I try to write a bit each night though :) My friend has also read the story and noted that I've made a few mistakes which I'll fix up later. Thanks to those people who reviewed, I appreciate it :D Ok, so onto the chapter which is chapter fourteen, the furthest I've ever gotten in writing a story before, I'm very proud of myself :)**

******I don't own anything, just Anala and the other characters you don't recognise. :D******

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They walked for miles. With Mango and Lee now out of their lives, they had to walk themselves to their destinations and since the map had been destroyed, their destination was a mystery. They'd eaten berries Fritz had deemed safe in the morning and were slightly fuller than they were when they had woken up as the sun rose.

Anala's limp was worse that day and had to hold onto Kai as Fritz tried to determine where they were. She missed not having to walk, it was so much easier and quicker to get around on the ostrich horses but as much as she wished, neither Mango nor Lee were going to pop up from ground and tell them to hop on.

They were jumpy at every small sound and when they jumped Anala's hand would instantly go towards her pocket where the Jade Jewel was pulsing and glowing. They were overjoyed as they saw the roofs of a house but were quickly disappointed as they noticed no one around, there was evidence of people being their maybe a week or two ago but they had long gone, leaving behind all their belongings, untouched.

It was strange.

They wandered through the eerily quiet town, checking each window and calling out to see if there were people hiding there. Once there was no answer they entered the nearest house and settled down with food they'd taken from a stall in the street. The three were silent as they munched on fruit while keeping their ears open for any strange noises. "I think we should stay here for a few days, until Anala can walk properly again. We all need to rest in case we're attacked again. We wouldn't stand a chance," Fritz spoke strongly while frowning at their current environment.

"I can't walk anymore anyway," Kai said softly, taking another small bite from her apple. "Well, at least we can say we survived pirates, jumping off a cliff and falling down a waterfall."

"I'm sure no one would believe the tale," Fritz chuckled.

"Sure they will! We'll become legends and then they'll believe everything!" Kai shouted happily.

"Are you ok?" Fritz asked Anala softly, who just nodded, not saying anything. Fritz wanted to make sure but didn't want to push her too much, so he left her be. Something Anala was grateful he did. Fritz and Kai continued talking about more adventures and journeys while Anala slipped outside unnoticed. She wandered slowly away and looked at the houses, still trying to figure out why these people would leave. It just didn't make any sense to her.

She picked up another apple from the stall, tossed it in the air and caught it as it came down. Rinse and repeat. Her limp was getting slightly better, though it would get even better if she stopped moving but she felt like going for a wander.

She paused and sat on a veranda, watching the sky as it started to dim and darken into night. "So do you like the sound of it?" Kai had come up and sat beside her. "Anala and Kai, the two greatest thieves in history."

"You know we'd never be able to go by Anala or Kai. It'd have to be Mayu and Ari, it wouldn't be the same," Anala chuckled softly and sat in silence with her very best friend as they watched the sun set. "Do you think we'll find him?"

"Of course we will, we'll find him or he'll find us," Kai said. _That's what I'm afraid of,_ Anala kept the statement to herself though, not enjoying the idea of getting into a fight with Kai about something so silly. "I think I'm just going to turn in for the night." She stood and held out her hand to Kai. The two walked back to the hut they were sleeping in and giggled the whole way.

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…

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They travelled again. They didn't want to stay in the spooky abandoned town for longer than they had to. They packed some food and were on their way, travelling north-east was their agreement. They stopped by a small stream to rest in the middle of the day and to take a break from walking in the heat.

They were emotionally and physically exhausted by the time they reached the next town which was full of people, something they were thankful for. It wasn't a simple village; it reminded Anala of the central town in the Fire Nation she'd escaped to so many times in her childhood. She'd enjoy watching the buskers play their instruments and would always have a few gold pieces to spare. She enjoyed the freedom of walking around more than anything. To be away from the palace, but at that moment she longed to be once again within its walls the way things used to be. She'd never admit these feelings to Kai; she had a hard time admitting it to herself.

They stopped off at one of the markets nearby where they grabbed some rice to eat, and sat against a building, enjoy their meal.

Anala couldn't help but notice the soldiers were beginning to look at them more closely as they ventured further into the town while the residents walked blissfully by. It was as if it was only them and the guards there, everyone else around them didn't exist.

Only when she saw a piece of paper stuck to a wall with a girl on the front with golden eyes, pale skin and short ebony hair beside another poster with a familiar girl with brown hair, dark skin and brilliant blue eyes, did it click in her mind why the soldiers were so suspicious. She managed to dodge a boulder just in time which would have collided into her side. The impact would have surely killed her. Kai cried out in surprise and Anala pointed to the two posters, noticing more hanging around the place as well.

The two girls ran ahead while Fritz was trying to fend the guards off. "Fritz, go ahead! Take this!" Anala threw the Jade Jewel to him.

"But-"

"GO!" she screamed, looking angrier than he'd ever seen her before and he took off. The girls crawled behind a barrel and waited until the bending stopped. "Ok," she whispered to Kai, "on the count of three, we run and join Fritz. Ready?" Kai nodded quickly. "One, two, THREE!"

The two ran from their hiding place and skilfully dodged the boulders that flew their way and also the people that were running in different directions, screaming wildly. Anala spotted Fritz running in the distance towards the forest nearby. She thought she'd had it all planned right and if they kept dodging they'd get away in no time. What she didn't count on, was the earth that snaked around her ankle and trap it, making her stop in surprise. "Kai!" she called with her eyes wide, expressing her pleads.

Kai turned around and went to rush back to her friend, but upon seeing the soldiers getting closer, she hesitated. "Kai, help!" Anala cried, as she tried desperately to drag her foot from the earth but it was no use. Only Kai could quickly grab something to break the earth around her feet. She looked back to the foot encased in earth and back to Kai, to her extreme surprise and fear, to see that the girl was backing away with her blue eyes wide with fear. "Kai, please, help!" she called.

Kai looked at her before shaking her head quickly and taking off after their friend. Anala's heart stopped at that moment and she couldn't wipe the expression of complete utter shock and betrayal off of her face as she watched Kai disappear into the trees.

The earth around her foot crumbled and she was pulled to her feet harshly. She didn't even bother to struggle; she didn't even move a muscle. "Well we've got one of them," one soldier said. "You're going to be in prison for a very, very long time young lady." The others laughed at having caught an apparent un-catchable thief but Anala could care less.

In the distant she heard faint yells which she knew came from her two former companions and couldn't help her display her anger on her face. She scrunched it up in pure anger as she was taken away.

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"Enjoy your stay, scum," the officer snarled as he slammed the cell door shut. She looked around in the darkness with wide, fearful eyes. She sat stunned for a moment before the moved to the small hole on her door that was barred. She wrapped her hands around and looked out; watching as guards marched up and down the halls menacingly, smashing into cell doors of any prisoner that happened to be making too much noise.

She shrunk back into the shadows as a couple of guards strutted past. She glared at them until they disappeared from her sight and sat back in the corner of the dark empty cell where she allowed herself to think. She'd find a way out, she had to. There was no way she was going to spend the rest of her life in the cell.

"It's because of _her_," she snarled to herself. If Kai hadn't been the one to suggest "borrowing" she wouldn't be in the situation she was in at that moment. If Kai had just left, she would have been in Ba Sing Se, living a new life as free as she could be. The girl was a curse. She left her there on purpose just to get what she wanted before she disappeared.

She looked down at the ground, her face hardened with anger and betrayal. She opened her hand and allowed flames to spark, something she hadn't allowed herself to do in a long time. She smirked maliciously at the flame as it grew bigger and strong. The sound of people approaching was the only thing that made her quickly extinguish the flame. The guards passed without looking in, which she was thankful for. She'd need to master her element before she went after Kai.

She felt slightly saddened at the thought of harming Kai, her friend. _Former friend,_ she thought bitterly. Now she thought about it, the whole "friends to the end" was probably something to suck her in, an illusion before she betrayed her and left her for dead. She wasn't a friend but an enemy. Maybe her family had been right. Maybe they were all really monsters; Kai clearly demonstrated that she and most people like her couldn't be trusted.

"She'll pay," she chuckled madly in the darkness, ignoring the banging on her door. She laughed until her throat throbbed and her sides grew sore. Even then, it took a few moments to stop her mad laughter.

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"She doesn't have anything," the officer told the strange man in front of him who snarled.

"She has it, I know she does!" the man barked back.

"I'm sorry sir but she has nothing on her. She has no necklace, not one like the necklace you speak of," the officer said, waving his hands at the guards who raised their weapons at the man when he yelled. The man calmed himself. "Maybe her friend took it. She and the earthbender boy got away; we didn't get the chance to catch them."

Something seemed to spark the man's interest as he mentioned friends of the prison Mayu. He clearly remember talking to the two, the one that was now imprisoned and empty handed, and the other one that was roaming free. "Would her name be Ari by any chance?"

The officer examined him a moment before gesturing to the guard who handed him two posters. One of Mayu and the other was her friend. He grabbed the picture of the dark skinned girl with the bright blue eyes and studied it carefully. She couldn't have possibly gotten too far. _She wouldn't last five minutes without Mayu,_ he told himself. He folded the poster and tucked it into his pocket.

"Thank you gentlemen for your time, I have business to attend to," he rushed from the prison as fast as his legs could carry him and hopped onto his own ostrich horse.

He pulled out the picture of the Jade Jewel and the girl with dark skin and studied them. He smirked and tucked them away again, turning his companion towards the east and moving him forward. _Soon it will be mine,_ he thought maliciously as he rode away from the prison.


End file.
